 Good evening aspirants, I welcome you all to the Hindu Daily News Analysis brought to you by Shankar IA's Academy for the newspaper dated 21st of June 2023. Displayed here is a list of articles that we will take up for discussion today. Go through it. Now we will start with the first article discussion. See this article from the science page is about the blue ocean event. The article focuses on the difficulty in predicting the blue ocean events using traditional climate models. It has also become more difficult to predict the possible effects of blue ocean events. This is the overall essence of the article. In this context, let us see the important points mentioned in this article in detail. Before that, the syllabus regarding this discussion is highlighted here for your reference. Now, let us start by first understanding what is a blue ocean event. The term blue ocean event refers to the hypothetical event where the Arctic Ocean experiences a complete absence of sea ice during the summer months. Now, look at this graph. The volume of sea ice in the Arctic region varies with season. The volume of sea ice in Arctic becomes minimum around September each year. If you notice the graph, you can conclude that the overall volume of sea ice is declining with each passing year. Over the past 40 years, this multi-year sea ice has shrunk from around 7 million square kilometres to 4 million square kilometres. Now, you will be wondering what is this multi-year sea ice? It is nothing but the ice which remains at the end of each summer. This multi-year sea ice is thicker than the other seasonal ice and it plays an important role in compacting climate change. Now, imagine you have a bowl of ice cream on a hot summer day. As the ice cream melts, it releases coldness into the surrounding air making it cooler. Now, let us say there is a scoop of ice cream that remains solid even after the other ice creams have melted. That scoop acts like a multi-year sea ice. It is thicker and takes longer to melt. As a result, it continues to release coldness and therefore it helps to maintain a cool environment for a long time. This is similar to how multi-year sea ice by acting as a barrier prevents excessive heat transfer between ocean and atmosphere thus stabilizing the climate. Due to its thickness, the multi-year sea ice acts as a barrier to transfer of both moisture and heat between the ocean and atmosphere thus preventing the positive feedback loop. We will see in detail about the positive feedback loop at the later part of the discussion. But now we will move forward. See, this climatically significant multi-year sea ice is on the decline. And when the area of multi-year sea ice falls below 1 million square kilometer, then blue ocean event is said to have occurred. During the blue ocean event, the Arctic will appear blue instead of its characteristic white color due to the lack of ice. This is all about the blue ocean event and multi-year ice. Moving forward, we will see why predicting the blue ocean event is a difficult task. The Arctic region has been experiencing a significant decline in sea ice both in terms of spread and thickness over the past few decades due to rising global temperatures. As greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, it further contributes to the warming of planet which in turn accelerates the melting of Arctic sea ice. The IPCC report published in 2021 predicted that the blue ocean event will happen in the middle of the century, that is around 2050. But a recent study which was published in the magazine Nature Communication, it is mentioned that the next event will happen by 2030. This can happen even if we take our best measures to control climate change. But why such variations between the two predictions? And now, why is it even difficult to predict? This is because the decline of Arctic ice is difficult to model as it is influenced by different factors like atmospheric circulation, oceanic circulation and the flow of heat between the two circulations. So, even with the best supercomputer and a decent climate model, it is difficult to accurately predict the extent or the spread of sea ice. Finally, let us see the importance of Arctic ice. First is the role of Arctic ice climate regulation. The Arctic ice acts as a natural reflector known as the Albedo effect. So, it reflects a significant portion of the incoming solar radiation back into the space, thus helping to regulate global temperatures. The presence of ice helps to cool the planet by reducing the amount of solar energy observed by the Earth's surface. So, as the ice melts and reduces in extent, more solar radiation is observed and this contributes to further warming through a positive feedback loop. A positive feedback loop is a self-reinforcing cycle where the initial change leads to additional change that further amplifies the original change. As the global temperature rises, Arctic sea ice melts at an accelerated rate. This reduction in ice coverage exposes the larger area of dark open water. Open water has a lower Albedo or lower reflectivity compared to ice. Therefore, as the ice melts and exposes more water, a positive feedback loop begins. The darker water absorbs more sunlight instead of reflecting it back into space. This leads to increased heating of the Arctic region. The increased absorption of sunlight by the open water causes the Arctic region to warm further. This warming not only accelerates the initial melting of sea ice but also has broader impacts on the global ecosystem. For example, acyl redded melting of Arctic ice leads to faster melting of ice sheets of Greenland. This leads to rising sea levels. So, only by preventing the Arctic ice melt, we can prevent the global climate catastrophe. Second is the role of Arctic ice in global ocean circulation. See, the Arctic ice plays an important role in driving global ocean circulation patterns. The cold, dense water produced from sea ice formation sinks to the ocean depths and this initiates a process known as thermohaline circulation or the ocean conveyor belt. This circulation basically helps to distribute heat and nutrition throughout the world's ocean. And this influences the regional and global climate patterns. When the Arctic sea ice melts, the temperature at the North Pole will not be cold enough to make ocean waters sink. Thus, it affects the ocean conveyor belt and the redistribution of heat in the ocean. This affects the biological activity in the ocean and it also affects the atmospheric circulation. This is because as the ocean circulation and the atmospheric circulation are intrinsically linked. Lastly, the Arctic ice provides a critical habitat for numerous species including polar bears, seals, walruses and various marine mammals. These species rely on the ice for hunting, breeding, resting and as platforms for accessing food sources. The presence of ice also supports a diverse ecosystem of algae, plankton, fish and it forms the base of the Arctic food web. So, when the Arctic ice disappears, the entire food web of the North Pole will be affected. So, these are some of the significance of Arctic sea ice. This is all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw some points about the blue ocean event, multi-year sea ice and we also saw that there is a difficulty in predicting the blue ocean event. And finally, we saw about the significance of Arctic sea ice. With the long points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion. Take a look at this news article. Recently, the drug controller general of India has approved the Jim Kovac OM vaccine. See, Jim Kovac OM is the India's first indigenous mRNA vaccine for the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus. The vaccine was approved under emergency use guidelines. Note that the vaccine was developed by Pune-based Genoa Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. As per the news, the vaccine is likely to be launched and rolled out within the next two to three weeks. So, this is all about the news. Now, in this context, let us understand about mRNA vaccines and we will also see how it works. First of all, what is a vaccine? See, vaccines are a substance that helps us to protect against certain diseases. Vaccines help us to prevent infections by preparing the body to fight foreign invaders such as bacteria, viruses or other pathogens. Once the vaccine is administered into our body, it imitates an infection. This is because the vaccines introduce a harmless piece of a particular bacteria or virus into the body. So, by imitating an infection, it will teach our immune system to fight off against future infection. Sometimes after getting a vaccine, the imitation infection can cause minor symptoms such as fever, headache and so on. Such minor symptoms are normal and it is a sign that our body is building immunity. Now, with this basics, let us understand about mRNA vaccine. See, we have various types of vaccines like live-attinated vaccines, inactivated vaccines and viral vector vaccines. These types of vaccines contain a weakened or dead virus or bacteria. Beyond such types, the scientists have also developed a new type of vaccine called mRNA vaccine or messenger RNA vaccine. The mRNA vaccines contain a molecule called messenger RNA. See, the messenger RNA is a type of RNA that is necessary for protein production in the body. Once cells finish making a protein, they quickly break down the mRNA. So, the mRNA does not enter the nucleus of the cell and it does not alter the DNA. Now, coming back to the mRNA vaccine. As we saw earlier, the mRNA vaccines contain messenger RNA. So, once the mRNA vaccine is administered into our body, it produces a piece of mRNA that corresponds to a viral protein. By using this mRNA, the cells in our body can produce the viral protein. Now, how does this happen? Once the viral protein is produced in our body as part of a normal immune response, the immune system recognizes that the protein is foreign. So, it produces specialized proteins called antibodies. Once the antibodies are produced, they remain in the body even after the body has got itself rid of the pathogen. So, if the person gets exposed to the virus, then the immune system will quickly respond to the infection and it destroys the virus before it causes any serious illness. So, this is how mRNA vaccines actually work. I'll try to explain you this in a very simple way. See, mRNA is like a little instruction manual that tells our cells how to make proteins. In vaccines, scientists use a small piece of mRNA that contains instruction for making a specific protein from a virus. When we get a vaccine, the mRNA is injected into our body. Our cells read the instruction and start making the viral protein. This is important because our immune system recognizes the viral protein as something foreign and it starts to fight it. It also learns how to recognize and destroy that specific virus. So, if we ever come in contact with the actual virus, our immune system is already prepared to fight it off. So, it will keep us healthy. Also, as we earlier saw, once the cells produce protein with the help of mRNA, the cells then break down the mRNA. So, mRNA does not enter the nucleus of the cell and it does not alter the DNA. Because of this advantage, the individuals who get an mRNA vaccine are not exposed to the virus and they cannot be infected with the virus. So, this is all that I wanted to discuss regarding this news article. With the learned points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion. Now, take a look at this opinion page article. It is written by a former defense secretary. So, here we have valuable insights about setting up of semiconductor fabrication plans in India. Let us now understand some important points mentioned in this article. Before that, the syllabus relevant to this discussion is highlighted here. You can go through it. Now, first let us have a basic understanding about semiconductors and the required conditions for setting up of semiconductor fabrication plan. So, what is a semiconductor? As we all know, based on the conductivity of solids, solids can be classified into three major types. Firstly, there are metals which possess very low resistivity that is high conductivity. The exact opposite to metals is insulators. They have high resistivity that is low conductivity. The middle one which has resistivity or conductivity intermediate to the metals and insulators is called semiconductors. See metals conduct electron, right? So, it would be hard to switch them off. And similarly, insulators do not conduct electrons at all. So, turning them on would be equally difficult. Semiconductor materials have properties that are just right in the middle. Due to this unique property, they serve as the heart and brain of all modern electronics and information and communication technology products. Know that semiconductors can be further classified into two types. Intrinsic semiconductors and extrinsic semiconductors. Intrinsic semiconductors are pure semiconductors made of silicon or germanium. Whereas extrinsic semiconductors have high electric conductivity than intrinsic due to the impurities mixed in them through the process of doping. Its examples include gallium, arsenide or silicon carbide. A single crystal of either of the types of semiconductors forms the basis of about all semiconductor devices. Having this basic understanding, let us quickly see the conditions required for the setting up of semiconductor fabrication plant. See, to set up any business, we require four factors of production. These are land, labour, entrepreneurship and capital. Specifically talking, the establishment of semiconductor fabs require robust infrastructure including reliable power supply, water resources, transportation networks and waste management systems. The process involved in manufacturing of semiconductors is displayed here. You can pause the video and go through it. See, currently India imports all ships and the market is estimated to touch $100 billion by 2025 from $24 billion now. Even though India made serious attempts since 2007 to establish a semiconductor fabrication plant, it could not succeed in its mission. Here the author asks India to learn from China. See, China started late in the semiconductor fabrication industry. But it was backed by massive financial support from the government for over the past two decades. Its strategy is very simple. See, we all know semiconductor fabrication represents the limits of human technological advancement. This limit further expands in accordance to Moore's law. Moore's law states that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles every two years. In simple words, we can expect the speed and capability of our computers to increase every two years. But this progress is accompanied with higher complexity and costs. As a result, the industry has seen a decline in the number of participants. Now, what China did is it just acquired hundreds of loss-making fabs from around the world and it built its own fabrication industry. With low manufacturing costs and a massive electronics manufacturing industry, China's chip production has grown rapidly. And China became one of the major producers of chip at par with US due to its market supremacy in rare earth materials. According to the author, India should learn this lesson from China. While India's strategy was to set up a new logic fabrication, China's strategy was to acquire loss-making fabs and then set up its own logic fabrication units. See, acquiring existing fabs also has many advantages. For example, they are reasonably priced. They have stabilized technology, a supply chain ecosystem, an established product line and market. They will also enable India to build the fabrication ecosystem and train human resources. Apart from this, much lower subsidies would be required and the funds saved could be used for advanced R&D in fabrication technologies. This will help build state-of-art fabrication units in next few years. Another strategy could be setting up assembly testing, packing and markings. So this is all that I wanted to discuss regarding this news article. With the learned points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion. Look at this article. Have you ever wondered why the sunflower always faces the sun? The article here addressed this question. But before we see about the points provided in this article, we must first cover some basics. See, like us humans, plants also have hormones. Plant hormones are naturally occurring chemical substances produced within plants that regulate various physiological processes. These hormones play crucial roles in plant growth, development and responses to environmental stimuli. See, there are five important plant hormones. Now let's see them one by one. First one is oxen. See, oxen controls cell elongation and it helps roots to grow. They guide the direction of plant growth and how plants respond to light and gravity. Oxen are also important for making new plants from stem cuttings and it can even make fruits without seeds. Now let's move on to another hormone, gibberlin. See, gibberlins make plant stems longer, help seeds to sprout and it even makes flowers to bloom. They also break seed dormancy and help leaves stems and fruits to grow. Next in line we have cytokines. See, cytokines basically help in cell division and makes shoots and roots grow. They stop leaves from getting old and help plants get nutrients. Cytokines and oxen work together to control plant growth. Now let's talk about abscessic acid. See, abscessic acid helps plants deal with tough conditions like drought, cold and salt. It helps plants save water by closing tiny openings called stomata. Abscessic acid also helps seeds stay asleep until the time is right for them to sprout. Finally we have ethylene. Ethylene is all about fruits. It helps the fruits to ripen and makes roots and root heads to grow. This is to take in more water and nutrients. Having done with the basics about plant hormones, now let us come back to the question, why do sunflowers always face the sun? See, this is because sunflower produces more oxen, a plant hormone on the side that gets less sunlight, which is the darker side. The extra oxen on the darker side makes the site grows faster than the side that gets more sunlight. Because of this difference in growth rates, the stem of the sunflower bends or curves towards the sun. Sunflowers do this because they need sunlight for photosynthesis. So by turning towards the sun, the sunflowers make sure they are getting the most sunlight possible for their growth and survival. To put it simply, the answer lies in phototrophism. See, trophism refers to the growth or movement of an organism in response to a stimulus. So, when the stimulus is light, then it is called phototrophism. So basically, phototrophism is a phenomenon in which plants exhibit growth or movement in response to light. For example, if a plant is placed near a window or it receives sunlight from one side, it will gradually bend or curve towards that side to maximize its exposure to the light. This allows the plants leaves or stems to receive more light, which is essential for the process of photosynthesis. So this is what happens with sunflowers as well. Now with the learned points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion. See, this text and context article is about the lawsuit which is filed against the Delta Airlines company. In this context, let us learn about the background of the issue. Then we will see about carbon offsetting, then greenwashing and some important points given in this article. But before getting into our discussion, the syllabus relevant to this article is given here for your reference taken out of it. First, let us look at the Delta Airlines lawsuit. See, Delta Airlines company announced itself as the world's first carbon neutral airline in 2020. Carbon neutral means the amount of carbon captured or sequestered will be equal to the amount of carbon emitted. Delta Airlines claim that they have invested in technology and creating forests to neutralize the amount of carbon they emit during every flight. Now, a lawsuit was filed against the airlines and this questions the authenticity of its carbon neutral claim. The lawsuit accuses that Delta Airlines is misleading its customers with its sustainability pledges. The Delta Airlines promises its customer that it will offset the carbon emitted on the flight. See, Delta Airlines relies on carbon offsetting to fulfill its sustainability pledge. The carbon offset refers to the process of reducing the carbon emission or increasing the carbon storage through land restoration or planting of trees to compensate the carbon emission that occur elsewhere. Carbon offsetting activities by Delta Airlines includes planting trees, shifting to cleaner fuel and funding carbon techniques to compensate the carbon emitted by their flights. See, a round-trip flight from Mumbai to Los Angeles creates about 4.8 tons of carbon dioxide. Delta Airlines says that they will observe the carbon emitted by this flight through trees that they support. But for this, they ask customers to pay extra. But when we look at Delta's carbon offset portfolio, we see a different picture. It means their efforts to offset carbon emissions may not be as effective as they claim. According to Bloomberg investigation report, the Delta Airlines have 50% of their carbon offset portfolio in renewable energy, that is, wind and solar projects in India. Delta's latest report had revealed that its carbon dioxide emission in 2020 is almost 7 times both one-hours carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industry in 2021. The lawsuit was filed based on the loop holes in the carbon offsetting process of Delta Airlines. These loop holes include inaccurate accounting of the projects relying on impermanent solutions like building a forest because building a forest does not always yield result because these forests could be destroyed by natural hazards like forest fire or cyclones etc. Again, a 2022 Bloomberg investigation has revealed that reductions from lost caucus to wind-formed projects in the Dominican Republic would have happened even without the involvement of Delta. But the Delta Airlines had denied all these claims. Now we will see about the Netherland-based KLM airline case. This case is somewhat similar to the Delta airline case. In April month of this year, a greenwashing case was filed against the KLM airline. Greenwashing refers to a situation where a company or an organization makes a claim that they are doing good to environment but in reality, they do not. In simpler terms, greenwashing refers to fake promise or claims by the companies or organizations for making our environment better. The advertisements of KLM had claimed that flying with them does not directly affect the environment. These ads mislead consumers in the name of sustainable initiatives which is a violation as per the consumer laws of Europe. Hence, a lawsuit was filed against it. Then, a Greenpeace report of 2022 had revealed that 7 of the biggest European airlines are committing high levels of greenwashing. Another study which looked upon the carbon offset claims of 37 airlines found that about 44% of these airlines have mislead their customers and got profits. Now, we will analyze the issues in carbon offset market. See, the first issue is that the reforestation that is growing trees or making forests as a climate adoption program is found to be very ineffective and misleading. They fail to sequester the carbon itself or the figures about carbon sequestration is changed often or it is inflated. The second issue is the moral concern of greenwashing. Big polluters use fossil fuels and uses cheaper routes like offsets to cut down the emissions. But the middle and low-income countries are the ones who are affected because of the climate realities. Then, the offset programs will be fruitful only if they reduce or remove the carbon which would not have been eliminated. But in reality, many companies are investing on projects that would have been built anyway which amounts to substantial misallocation of resources. So, now what is the way forward? See, the airlines should focus on decarbonizing the aviation sector by adopting technologies like sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen and full electric propulsion techniques. We should also keep in mind that the air traffic will shoot up soon but the process of developing decarbonizing technology may take some time. This is all that I wanted to discuss regarding this news article. Now, we will take up the next article for a discussion. Now, take a look at this news article. The news is that a team of experts from the Union Health Ministry will visit the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The experts are going to support such states in public health responses to heat-related illnesses. This is about the news. In this discussion, we will learn about heat waves and its impacts. First, let's start with heat waves. See, a heat wave is a condition of high abnormal air temperature. To put it simply, during a heat wave, the air temperature is more than the normal maximum temperature. The heat wave usually occurs when the temperature is very hot and prolonged compared to the normal days expected temperature. Now, coming to India-specific information. During the summer season, the north-western parts of India are more vulnerable to heat waves. The heat waves typically occur between March and June and in some rare cases, it even extends till July. See, the extreme temperatures and resultant atmospheric conditions in the north-western parts of India are adversely affecting the people. This is because the heat waves cause physiological stress and health impacts to the people. Sometimes it can even result in death. Now, we will look at the criteria to declare a heat wave. See, the Indian Meteorological Organization has provided some criteria to declare a heat wave. According to the Indian Meteorological Organization, a heat wave is declared based on three criteria. First, when the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40 degree Celsius or more for planes. Second, when the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 37 degree Celsius or more for coastal region. And third, when the maximum temperature reaches at least 30 degree Celsius or more for hilly regions. So, based on these three criteria, a heat wave is declared in different landscapes. Now, moving on to see about the impacts of heat waves. Firstly, the heat waves cause serious health issues like dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and so on. These types of health issues affect our financial resources. See, to get rid of heat-related health complications, we need to spend more money on hospital expenses. So, it basically puts a burden on our finances. Secondly, the heat waves adversely affect the agricultural sector. This is because heat waves affect the irrigation systems, crop fields and soil moisture. Thirdly, the heat waves are associated with high energy consumption. See, during heat waves, to keep ourselves cool, we need some extra electricity to operate air coolers or air conditioners. So, this leads to high energy consumption and even results in power deficiency. These are all some of the impacts of heat waves. Now, what can be done? Wherever you go outside during summer, always carry a water bottle with you and stay hydrated. Then, try to plant trees in your garden side or in barren lands. This small contribution from you will lead to a big change. That's all. With the learnt points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion. Look at this news article here. As we all know, currently, violence is going on between the Maitai and Kuki people in Manipur. Because of this violence, the highways in Manipur were blocked by both the armed cadres of Kuki and Maitai. It threatens the free movement of people and it also affects the transport of essential supplies to people across the state. Recently, some messages have circulated that the Maitai insurgent groups were planning to damage the bridge on national highways 102B in South Manipur. This bridge connects Manipur with the neighboring Mysore. So, due to this threatening message, the Assam Rifles have moved additional troops to secure the bridge on a national highway. This is all about the news. In this context, let us learn quickly about Assam Rifles. Assam Rifles is an Indian paramilitary force and it is one of the central armed Polish forces of India. Note that the Assam Rifles is the oldest paramilitary force in India. The Assam Rifles is currently administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Government of India. The Assam Rifles is responsible for various roles in Northeast like border security, counter insurgency and maintenance of law and order. The main goal of Assam Rifles is to guard the Indo-Myanmar border. Despite being a central Polish force, the operational control of Assam Rifles is maintained by the Indian Army. Around 80% of the officers of Assam Rifles come from the Army and the remaining officers come from the Assam Rifles cadre itself. Note that the Assam Rifles is commanded by the Director General of the Assam Rifles who is of the rank of Lieutenant General of the Army. And the Director General of Assam Rifles is appointed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. So this is all about Assam Rifles. Now let us look into the history of Assam Rifles very briefly. See the Assam Rifles was established in 1835. It was established as a militia called as the Kachar Levy. Here the term militia refers to an organization that operates like an army but the members are not professional soldiers like in a regular army. See the force was formed in 1835. This was formed primarily to protect British tea estates and their settlements against tribal rights. Subsequently all the unorganized forces were reorganized and named as Frontier Force. This force significantly contributed in opening the Northeast region to administration and commerce. During World War I the British had sent over 3000 men of the Frontier Force to Europe and the Middle East to provide support to the British Army. The men of the Frontier Force had shown a great valour in the war. So in 1917 to recognize their work during the Great War the British had changed the name of the Frontier Force into Assam Rifles. This is how the Assam Rifles came into being. Then in post independence also the Assam Rifles played a significant role during the Sino-India War in 1962. It also performed various peacekeeping roles in the northeastern area of India during tribal unrest and insurgency. Today the Assam Rifles remained deployed in some of the most remote and underdeveloped areas in the northeastern states. The force continuously provides security to the local people. Through its long deployment in the tribal belt the Assam Rifles has earned the complete confidence of the locals. The humane, just and ever helpful approach of the men of the Assam Rifles has truly managed to win the hearts and minds of the Northeast people. So the members of Assam Rifles are fondly called friends of the Northeast people. This is all that I wanted to discuss regarding this news article. With a lot of points in mind now we will move on to the next article discussion. See this data point article discusses about the growth of UPI transactions in terms of both value and volume. Here value refers to the amount and volume refers to the number of transactions. Data reveals that the UPI transactions had increased rapidly in recent years. Firstly we will look at some basic information about the UPI. So UPI stands for Unified Payment Interface. UPI payments were introduced in India as a pilot program with 21 member banks on 11th of April 2016. Next we will look at the daily limits on UPI transactions. See the National Payments Corporation of India in 2021 had set the limit. The users can make up to 20 transactions a day and amount of up to rupees 1 lakh per day. But take a note that every banks and apps have their own limits. For example in ICICI bank the number of UPI transactions per day is limited to 10. But the Bank of Baroda and HDFC allows 20 transactions per day. Here 5 charts are given in this data point. Chart 1 shows the monthly volume of UPI transactions. In May 2018 190 million UPI payments were made. But in May 2023 9,415 million UPI payments were made. This is around 4,855% increase. Chart 2 shows the share of various instruments like UPI NIFT, IMPS and credit cards in volume of retail payments in India. In 2017-18 the share of UPI payments was just 5.9%. But in 2022-23 its share has increased to about 73%. One interesting fact is that the increase in UPI transactions was mostly in terms of volume and not in terms of value. The value of UPI transactions in 2018 was rupees 33,288 crores which amounts to rupees 1756 per transaction. But the figure of May 2023 was 14,89,145 crores which amounts to rupees 1581 per transaction. The value per transaction has fallen by rupees 175 in 5 years. Next we will look at the data given in chart 3. Chart 3 tells that in 2017-18 the share of UPI in total value of retail payment was just 0.4%. But it went on to hit 21.1% in 2022-23. Then chart 4 and 5 shows the volume of UPI apps and remitter banks. PhonePay holds the first position followed by Gpay and Payton. When it comes to remitter banks, SBI holds the first position followed by HDFC. So these are the important points from this data point article. With this we have come to the end of this discussion. Now we will move to the next part that is practice questions. Today we have 5 questions. 4 questions will be discussed by me and 1 will be the quiz question for the day. Question number 1. Consider the following statements. Statement number 1. A person who gets mRNA vaccine cannot be exposed or infected with a virus component present in the vaccine. Statement number 2. The messenger RNA or mRNA which is necessary for protein production gets quickly break down by the cells after it finishes making a protein. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? So here we have 2 statements. We have to find whether both the statements are correct or not. Also we have to check whether the second statement is the correct explanation of the first statement or not. Here statement number 1 and 2 both are correct. We have to find if the statement number 2 explains statement number 1. Now there is a trick. This is what we call the because trick. See at the end of statement 1 we will now add the word because and then we will continue to read the second statement. If this makes logical sense probably the statement 2 is the correct explanation for the statement 1. Now I will read. See a person who gets mRNA vaccine cannot be exposed or infected with the virus component present in the vaccine. Because the messenger RNA or mRNA which is necessary for protein production gets quickly break down by the cells after it finishes making a protein. This makes perfect sense. Also there is one more trick which you can try. Try adding the word so at the end of statement 2 and continue to read the first statement. We will try this as well. The messenger RNA or mRNA which is necessary for protein production gets quickly break down by the cells after it finishes making a protein. So a person who gets mRNA vaccine cannot be exposed or infected with the virus component present in the vaccine. This also makes perfect sense. As we saw in the discussion once the cells produce protein with the help of mRNA the cells break down the mRNA. So the mRNA does not enter the nucleus of the cell and it does not alter the DNA. Because of this advantage the individuals who get an mRNA vaccine are not exposed to the virus and they cannot be infected with the virus component present in the vaccine. So the correct answer here is option A both statement 1 and 2 are correct and statement 2 is the correct explanation for statement 1. Moving on to question number 2. Consider the following statements regarding National Payments Corporation of India. Statement number 1 it is an initiative of Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks Association. Statement number 2 it is a not-for-profit company. Statement number 3 it provides infrastructure to banking system for physical as well as electronic payment systems. How many of the above statements are correct? See here statement number 1 is correct. NPCI is the initiative of RBI and the Indian Banks Association under the provisions of the Payment and Settlements Act of 2007. Statement number 2 is also correct. NPCI is a not-for-profit company registered under the provisions of section 25 of Companies Act 1956. Also statement 3 is correct here. So the correct answer for this question is option C all 3. Question number 3. Consider the following. Reduced crop yield, high energy consumption, reduction in soil moisture, dehydration in humans. How many of the above points is there are the potential impacts of heat waves? Here all the points are the potential impacts of heat waves. So the correct answer for this question is option D all 4. Question number 4. Consider the following statements with respect to Assam Rifles. Statement number 1. It is the oldest paramilitary force of India. Statement number 2. It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and the Government of India. Statement number 3. The operational control of the Assam Rifles is vested with the Indian Army. Statement number 4. It was established only after the Indian independence. Here statement number 1 is correct. We saw this in the discussion. Then statement number 2 is incorrect. The Assam Rifles is the only paramilitary force in India with a dual control structure. The administrative control of the force is with the Ministry of Home Affairs. Whereas the operational control is with the Indian Army which is under the Ministry of Defence. So here statement 3 is correct. Then statement 4 is incorrect. The Assam Rifles was established in 1835 itself as a Militia called Kachar Live. So only statement 1 and 3 are correct. So the correct answer for this question is option B only 2. Question number 5. This is the quiz question for the day. Based on the discussion we had today, you will be able to answer this question. Read the question carefully and post your answers in the comment box. Displayed here are the main questions for your practice. Interest aspirants can write the answer and post it in the comment box below. If you have found a video to be useful, hit the like button. 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