 Good evening aspirants welcome to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankar IA's Academy for the date 18th of february 2022 displayed here are the list of news articles chosen for today's discussion See as I assured you there is an economic topic today in our discussion. It is about the free trade agreement I have spoken about what is free trade agreement and what are all the benefits of FTA Then also I covered in mains perspective India UAE trade relations and how far FTA with UAE is helpful for India in achieving its merchandise export target. Okay now without wasting much time Let's get into our discussion Look at this editorial article. It is with reference to the free trade agreement See this editorial talks about the India's new approach to the free trade agreement negotiations and trade relations with United Arab Emirates that is UAE See in this context, we will learn about free trade agreement and its benefits and we'll also discuss about India UAE trade relations and the issues associated with it and the solutions to those issues So the syllabus relevant for this news article is given here for your reference. Please go through it See before getting into the discussion. Look at these two questions One is a previous year mains question that is from 2011 mains GS paper 2 and the other one is a preliminary question from the year 2015 see both are related to the free trade agreement that we are going to discuss today in this news article See, I have displayed these two questions to show you how important this discussion is for both mains and Prelims. Okay, so pay attention to the entire discussion And this is definitely going to be important for both your problems and mains examination Okay, now without wasting much time. Let's get into the discussion. First of all, what are free trade agreements? See free trade agreements are agreements between two or more countries or trading blocks These agreements primarily aims to reduce or eliminate Customs tariff and non-tariff barriers on trade between them See tariff barriers are the tax or duty imposed on the goods which are traded to or from abroad Okay, on contrary a non-tariff barrier is a way to restrict the trade Using trade barriers in a form other than a tariff. Okay, see for example Non-tariff barriers include quotas, embargoes sanctions and levies See the free trade agreements or FTAs Normally cover trade in goods such as agricultural or industrial products or trade in services such as banking Construction trading, etc. etc. See this FTAs can also cover other areas such as Intellectual property rights Investment government procurement and competition policy, etc See this free trade agreements don't just reduce and eliminate tariffs They also help to address various issues behind the border such as Intellectual property e-commerce and government procurement. So Considering these benefits of FTA the minister of commerce and industry last year informed that India's free trade agreement strategy was being revamped in its revamped foreign trade strategy FTAs would be formulated in a much more interactive process Here the FTAs will be fairly and equitably Crafted according to the strategy India will further open its market and also will occupy Larger share in foreign markets Also, India will fast track trade deals with at least six countries See it includes United Arab Emirates or UAE, then United Kingdom, European Union, Canada and Australia Thus trade relations with UAE holds much significance Now I'll briefly discuss about India UAE trade relation See India UAE trade in 1970 was valued at US dollar 180 million per annum, but today it is over US dollar 59 billion Thus it makes UAE India's third largest trading partner for the year 2019 to 2020 after China and US See now UAE is India's second largest export destination and import source So USA followed by UAE and China remind the top export destinations in April to November 2021 Also note that China, UAE and USA were the largest import source for India See among the top 10 countries for import China, UAE and US were the top import sources for India in April to November 2021 Note that China's share reduced to 15.5% from 17.7% in corresponding period That is a year earlier It reflects the increasing diversification of India's import sources See the India UAE total trade merchandise has been valued at US dollar 52.76 billion for the first nine months of the fiscal year 2021 to 2022 Making the UAE India's third largest trading partner See the aim is to boost bilateral merchandise trade to above US dollar 100 billion And service trade to US dollar 15 billion in five years See India's exports to the UAE are well diversified with a large basket So let me tell what are all the India's major export items to the UAE and India's major import items from the UAE Okay. See India's major export items to the UAE are petroleum products, precious metals, stones, gems and jewelry Then minerals, food items, textiles and engineering and missionary products and even chemicals And India's major import items from the UAE are petroleum and petroleum products, precious metals, stones, gems and jewelry Minerals, chemicals, then wood and wood products See India also imported 21.83 mmt that is US dollar 10,927.52 million of crude oil from UAE in 2019 to 2020 See the UAE's investment in India is estimated to be around US dollar 17 to 18 billion Out of this, US dollar 11.67 billion is in the form of FDI while the remaining is portfolio investment This makes UAE the ninth biggest investor in India During the visit of prime minister in august 2015 to UAE it is decided to establish UAE India Infrastructure Investment Fund See Dames too reach a target of US dollars 75 billion to support investment in India's plans for rapid expansion of next generation infrastructure See the infrastructure projects includes railways, ports, roads, airports and even industrial corridors and parks Parks like national parks or wildlife sanctuaries, etc Also investment by Indian companies in UAE is in excess of US dollar 85 billion Many Indian companies have set up manufacturing units either as joint ventures or in special economic zones for cement Building materials textiles engineering products consumer electronics, etc, etc See many Indian companies including Taj group of hotels have also invested in the tourism hospitality catering health Retail and education sectors See hinduja group has set up manufacturing units for Ashok Lail and vehicles in Russell Kaima So far we have seen India UAE trade relations Now we will see how UAE would help India to achieve its merchandise export target Okay See the India UAE total trade merchandise has been valued at US dollar 52.76 billion for the first nine months of the fiscal year 2021 to 2022 Know that India aims to boost bilateral merchandise trade to about US dollar 100 billion and serve straight to US dollar 15 billion in five years All these information we already saw the thing is India's new form strength in exports is on the verge of creating history By reaching the figure of us dollar 400 billion of merchandise export Therefore a trade agreement with an important country like UAE would help sustain the growth momentum Also, UAE is a party to several regional and bilateral free trade agreements Including with countries in the Gulf cooperation council that is gcc Then as a part of this gcc The UAE has strong economic ties with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman So it denotes that the UAE shares a common market and customs union with these nations Therefore fta with UAE will pave the way for India to enter the UAE strategic location See it will also provide relatively easy access to the African market and its various trade partners See it will help India to become a part of that supply chain Especially in hand looms, handicrafts, textiles and pharma So these are the benefits of India's fta with UAE, but there are also challenges See the challenge is with the compliance requirement The UAE tariff structure is bound with the gcc that is Gulf cooperation council On the applied average tariff rate is 5 percent. This is quite higher Therefore the scope of addressing non-tariff barriers becomes very important See the non-tariff barriers includes non-tariff measures like sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade The UAE has 451 sanitary and phytosanitary notifications And this sanitary and phytosanitary notifications are mainly related to live poultry, meat and processed food In addition the UAE has 534 technical barriers to trade notifications Mainly related to fish, food editors, meat, rubber, electrical missionaries, etc Most of these notifications are related to consumer information, labeling, licensing or permit requirements And import monitoring and surveillance requirements See these compliances pose a challenge for Indian exporters. Am I right? So the new fta agreement must try to bring more transparency and predictability in the use of non-tariff barriers And India should soon address the challenge with diplomatic talks with UAE So that the compliance mechanism becomes less complicated And it will provide a unique opportunity to take India UAE trade and investment relations to exponential heights So that's all regarding this editorial. So we have seen about the free trade agreement What are the tariff barriers, non-tariff barriers? Then we saw about the India UAE trade relations including their export items and import items Then we saw how UAE would help India achieve its merchandise export target Finally we saw what are all the challenges in the India UAE trade and the solution to those challenges So with these key points in mind, now let's move on to the next news article discussion Have a look at this news article. See this news article talks about the United Nations Security Council That is UNSC which is a principal organ of the United Nations See in a meeting at the UNSC called by Russia to discuss the Ukraine crisis On the 7th anniversary of the UNSC's fire agreement India was called for a diplomatic solutions to the tensions Through this discussion India again backs diplomacy at UNSC So this is the crux of the news article. In this context Let us quickly brush through the six principal organs of the United Nations See the United Nations is neither a supra state nor a government of governments It does not have an army and it imposes no taxes See it depends on the political will of its member states to have its decision put into action And relies on the contribution of its members to carry out its activities See the United Nations has six main organs which are called as the principal organs Out of the six five of them namely the general assembly the security council the economic and social council The trusteeship council and the secretariat are based at the UN headquarters in New York While the sixth principal organ which is the international court of justice Is located at the Hagan Netherlands Okay, now let us briefly see about these six principal organs. Okay See the general assembly is the main deliberative organ of the united nations It is composed of representatives from all member states each of which has only one See under the charter of the united nations, which is the founding document of the united nations The security council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security See it has 15 members and each member has one See this charter act was signed on 26th to june 1945 in san francisco. Please make a note of it Know that under the charter all the member states are obligated to comply with the council decisions That is they have to comply with the security council's decision The next organ that we are going to see is yes the economic and social council It is a founding UN charter body established in 1946 See it is a place where the world's economic social and environmental challenges Are discussed and debated and policy recommendations are issued Okay, and the next organ that we are going to see is the trusteeship council See the trusteeship council was established to provide international supervision for 11 trust territories And to make sure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the territories for self-government and independence The last organ that we are going to see is the international court of justice See it is the principal judicial organ of the united nations The court is charged with settling legal disputes between states and giving advisory opinions to the united nations And its specialized agencies Also, note that the UN secretariat consisting of staff Representating all nationalities working in duty stations all over the world carries out the day-to-day work of the organization See the secretariat services the other principal organs of the united nations And administers the programs and policies established by them. See that's all about this news article So we discussed briefly about the six principal organs and you can utilize them while answering your prelims question So with these key points in mind now, let us move on to the next news article discussion Take a look at this news article See this news article mentions about the great backyard bird count Which is an annual avian census that marks the whereabouts that is a location site position, etc Of millions of birds As per the article it is a four day event starting today in which hundreds of birdwatchers from Bengaluru and across india Acquipped with their binoculars and cameras will document birds in their neighborhoods and cities till february 21 So in this context, let us know about the great backyard bird count and additionally Let us see about the black-shouldered kite which is pictured in the article. Okay See the great backyard bird count is a global bird count during which Thousands of birdwatchers all across the world look for birds for four days See usually this is done during the month of february every year. Okay This event is filled with fun and it helps create a snapshot of where birds are In india, we have been marking the great backyard bird count since 2013 and the Participation has grown in leaps and bounds See this year the great backyard bird count is on 18th to 21st of february. Okay See why is it so important? See these annual snapshots of bird populations Help answer a variety of important questions Including how birds are distributed across the country How they are affected by changes in habitat and weather and whether populations and distributions might be changing from year to year In addition one can use the opportunity of this event to get others involved in birding See to reach out to the general public or even to run a local or regional project This can be used the bird count india Which is a coming together of a number of groups and organization Interested in birds wildlife and conservation Coordinates this great backyard bird count in india See the main aim of this bird count india is to increase our collective knowledge about bird distribution and populations See the 2021 edition of the great backyard bird count engaged over 2900 birders who uploaded over 31,355 checklist and reported 965 species This year we have to wait for the count to happen So that's all about the great backyard bird count now. Let us see about the black shoulder kite See it is also called as australian black shoulder kite It is a small raptor found in open habitat throughout australia See raptors includes species of bird that particularly hunt and feed on the vertebrates That are large relative to the hunter. See this bird measures around 35 centimeter in length with a wingspan of 80 to 100 centimeter and the adult black shoulder kite has predominantly gray white plumage And prominent black markings above its red eyes See it gains its name from the black patches on its wings The species forms monogamous pairs breeding between august and january See monogamy is a form of diadic relationship in which an individual has only one partner during their lifetime Three or four legs are laid and incubated for around 30 days Chicks of them are fully fledged within five weeks of hatching and interestingly you can note that they can hunt for mice within a week of leaving the nest See the juveniles disperse widely from their home territory The black shoulder kite hunts in open grasslands searching for its prey by hovering and systematically scanning the ground See it mainly eats small rodents Particularly the house mouse and has benefited from the modification of the australian landscape by agriculture See it is rated as least concerned on the international union for conservation of nature That is IUCN's red list of endangered species in that it is listed in the least concerned Okay, so that's all about this news article See the points that we discussed regarding the bird count can be utilized for enhancing your mains answers While you're writing about some conservation of avian species or how to involve people's participation in the conservation process For all those you can utilize these points So with these key points in mind now, let's move on to the next news article discussion Now look at this news article See as per this news article, tamilada government said no in supreme court to the neutrino observatory See the indian neutrino observatory is planned to be set up in the western ghats But the state government opposes the project This is because of the fact that the observatory is planned to be set up in a sensitive ecological zone in the western ghats at a great cost to wildlife and biodiversity And by ignoring the local opposition to the project, this is made So in this context, let us learn some of the important facts about the indian neutrino observatory See before getting into the details of the INO, let us briefly understand about the neutrinos See a neutrino is a subatomic particle that is very similar to an electron but has no electrical charge And it has a very small mass Neutrinos are one of the most abundant particles in the universe Because they have very little interaction with the other matters However, they are incredibly difficult to detect See the nuclear forces treat electrons and neutrinos identically Both do not participate in the strong nuclear force. Here I mean the electrons and the neutrinos But both participate equally in the weak nuclear force See particles with this property are termed leptons So this neutrino is a neutral lepton because these leptons do not have any electrical charge Okay Now talking about the INO project or the India based neutrino observatory project It is a multi institutional effort aimed at building a world-class underground laboratory See this is with a rock cover of approximately 1200 meter for a non-accelerator based high energy and nuclear physics research in India In simple words, it is a particle physics observatory planned to study cosmic rays emitted by neutrinos from constructed caves and mountains of Taini district See the site in Potipuram village in Taini district was identified in 2009 And rupees 1500 crore was allowed to the project in the year 2015 However, the project was opposed by the local people and environment activists Since they say that the region for drilling and excavation is near the periphery of the Madikaten Shola National Park a protected forest area Madikaten Shola National Park See this national park is a protected forest area and an area that is designated as tiger corridor However, the scientists have said that the proposed project will place Tamil Nadu on the map of high end research in fundamental sciences Which will provide a deeper understanding of nature See they have also sought permission citing that the project will play a role in solving several questions of basic science and that it will not cause environmental damage See as I already said a neutrinos is a sabatomic particle having no electrical charge And a very small mass in particular. They do not interact with any other matter See they are abundant in the universe, but they are difficult to detect So studying these neutrinos will help us to identify basic laws of nature And provide us with a deeper understanding of what the sabatomic particles means Okay, so that's all about this article. So we saw about the India based neutrino observatory project Then we also saw some of the basic about neutrino So with these key points in mind now, let us move on to the next news article discussion Look at this news article. This is with reference to the central bureau of investigation See the article states that cba has filed the final report closing the investigation into the death of 19 year old Fatima Latif at IIT Madras hostel. See let's not get deep into the issue Instead, let us revise about the central bureau of investigation its composition powers and then functions. Okay Now let's start our discussion. See the central bureau of investigation or cbi is a premier investigative agency in the country cbi was set up in 1963 by a resolution of the ministry of home affairs Later it was transferred to the ministry of personal and now it enjoys the status of an attached office Note that the special police establishment set up in 1941 was also merged with cbi See the establishment of the cbi was recommended by the santhanam committee on prevention of corruption The cbi is not a statutory body It derives its power from the delhi special police establishment act 1946 See it plays an important role in the prevention of corruption and maintaining integrity in the administration It also provides assistance to the central vigilance commission and lokpal Now we'll see the composition of cbi the cbi is headed by a director He is assisted by a special director or an additional director the director of cbi Who is equivalent to the rank of inspector general of police is responsible for the administration of the organization The director of cbi has been provided security of two-year tenure in office by the central vigilance commission at 2003 In 2013 the lokpal and lokayukta's act amended the delhi special police establishment act 1946 In 2014 the lokpal app provided a committee for the appointment of cbi director The committee is headed by prime minister the other members of the committee includes leader of opposition in lok sabha And the chief justice of india or a supreme court judge nominated by him Later the delhi special police establishment amendment act 2014 Made a change in the composition of the committee related to the appointment of the director of cbi It states that where there is no recognized leader of opposition in the lok sabha Then the leader of the single largest opposition party in the lok sabha would be a member of that committee Now let us see the functions of the cbi. The first function is investigating cases of corruption bribery and misconduct of central government employees The second function is investigating cases relating to infringement of fiscal and economic laws That is breach of laws concerning export and import control customs and central excise income tax foreign exchange Regulations and so on then the third function is Investigating serious crimes having national and international ramifications Committed by organized gangs of professional criminals The fourth function is to coordinate the activities of the Anti-corruption agencies and the various state polis forces The fifth function is on request of a state government They take up any case of public importance for investigation And the last function is maintaining crime statistics and disseminating criminal information So that's all about this article. See this is very important for your prelims perspective So these key points in mind now let us move on to the prelims practice question discussion Now look at the first question. It is about the united nation security council See before dealing with the question look at the functions of the united nation security council provided here Have you gone through it? Now you can easily address this question. See all the three statements here are correct Yes, unse's function is to maintain international peace and security Then it is used to investigate any dispute or situation Then it is also used to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression So your answer here will be option c all of the above are correct Now let's move on to the second question. It is about the central bureau of investigation. That is cbi It is a two statement question. So you have to go through both the statements Now look at the first statement. It says it is a statutory body. It is absolutely incorrect because cbi was set up in 1963 by a Resolution of the ministry of home affairs. So it is not a statutory body here. Okay Now look at the second statement It says the director of cbi has been provided security of two year tenure in office by the delhi special polis establishment act 1946 See this statement is also incorrect because the director of cbi has been provided security of two year in office by the central vigilance commission act 2003 it is not delhi special polis establishment act 1946 See read the question carefully here. The question is demanding for correct statements So the answer here will be option d neither one nor two or correct Now look at the third question. It is about the indian neutrino observatory See there are three statements. It says neutrino radiation will affect the health of the people Second statement the nuclear waste will be stored in this facility. Third statement is Environment will be affected by the research activities on neutrino. See all these three statements are incorrect Because we saw in a discussion that neutrino do not interact with any matter So it cannot cause radiation And remember this observatory is built to study about neutrino And it is not for dumping nuclear waste or storing nuclear waste, okay And thirdly it will not affect the environment. That is why this project is approved Now look at the complete question here. It is asking for correct statement So your answer will be option d none of the above are correct Now look at the last question. It is about the great backyard bird count It is a two statement type question. So go through both the statements Look at the first statement. It is correct because we saw that great backyard bird count in india is the indian implementation of the global great backyard bird count Which runs for four days in the month of february in every year during this time See indian birders have participated in the gbbc. That is great backyard bird count Since the event went worldwide in 2013, okay Now look at the second statement. It says it is coordinated by the bird count india. Yes, it is also correct See this bird count india is coming together of a number of groups and organizations that are interested in births nature and conservation This is also we saw in our discussion itself. So both statements here are correct The question is also demanding for correct statement. So your answer here will be option c both 1 and 2 are correct Okay Displayed here is the mains practice question. It is regarding our free trade agreement discussion That is india-ue trade relation we discussed right regarding that this question is displayed Please go through the question and write your answers and post it in the comment section If you like this video, do like share and comment and don't forget to subscribe to the Shankar IAS Academy's youtube channel Thank you for listening