 A very good evening aspirants welcome to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankar Ayes Academy for the date 5th of September 2022 and displayed here are the list of news articles that we have chosen for today's discussion. See we had made an elaborate discussion on LGBTQ community which is very much important for both your prelims as well as means and also the other three articles are very much important for your prelims as well as means. And I had said how you can cover the facts for your prelims and utilize them in answering your prelims questions. Also wherever possible we can use this in your means answers as well ok. So without wasting much time now let's get into the first news article discussion. Now have a look at this news article see it talks about the cotton crop and few other caref crops. This is a news because the heavy rain in Telangana has affected the cotton crops. So let us take up this as an opportunity to learn about the cotton crops. Also we will discuss the three different cropping seasons in India ok. Now let us start with cotton see it is a caref crop and it is one of the main raw materials for the cotton textile industry. Note that India is believed to be the original home of the cotton plant and when we look into the growing conditions cotton grows well in the black cotton soil of the Deccan Plattu ok. See it requires high temperature, light rainfall or light irrigation and it needs 210 frost free days and bright sunshine for its growth ok. Also cotton requires 6 to 8 months to mature ok. Then we have to know the major cotton producing states in India. See the major cotton producing states in India are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh ok. And the cotton occupies about 4.7% of total cropped area in the country. Thus India ran second in the world in the production of cotton which is after China ok. Having known that cotton is the cariff crop now let us learn about the cariff season and the other two seasons of India. See India has three cropping seasons namely the cariff, rabi and the zile. Don't worry we will see them one by one. Before that what is meant by cropping season? See cropping seasons are the seasons in which a particular crop is grown that is a time period during which a particular crop is grown ok. Now firstly take the cariff season. See the cariff crops are grown with the onset of monsoon in different parts of the country and the crops are harvested in September to October. So for the harvest to happen in September to October the crop will be sown on June ok. Thus the season lies between June to September or October ok. So the important crops grown during this season are paddy, rice, maize, jowar, bajra, tur, moong, urab, cotton, jute, groundnut and soya bean ok. So if you can notice the crops grown in the cariff season it will require a lot of water. This is one of the reasons why their cultivation coincides with the southwest monsoon season ok. Now coming to the second season which is the rabbi season. See the rabbi crops are sown in winter from October to December and when it will be harvested it will be harvested in summer that is from April to June ok. Now what are the important rabbi crops? They are wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard. See in general the rabbi crops require less water and the availability of precipitation during winter months due to the western temperate cyclones helps in success of these rabbi crops ok. And the states from the north and northwestern parts of India such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammon Kashmir, Uttarkhand and Uttar Pradesh are important for the rabbi crops ok. However the success of the green revolution in Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan has also been an important factor in the growth of the above mentioned rabbi crops in those states ok. Now finally comes the zayat season. See in between the rabbi and the kaurab season there is a sharp season. This will be during the summer months that is from March to June that is known as the zayat season ok. Some of the crops that are produced during zayat season will be watermelon, muskmelon and cucumber. So this is all about the different cropping seasons in India ok. So that's all about this news article. See in this news article discussion we had taken each and every information from the NCRT book itself ok. So whatever comes from NCRT you have to rely on it and it will be very much relevant for your examination purpose ok. So these key points in mind now let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now have a look at this editorial article. See this editorial article talks about the struggles of LGBTQ plus community. Also it talks about the recent notification of the National Medical Commission regarding this community enhancement ok. So through this discussion we will see who are these LGBTQ plus community then the challenges faced by them and also about the status of rights in India ok. So that the syllabus relevant to this news article is given here for your reference. Kindly go through it ok. Now let's start our discussion. First let us see the abbreviation of the word LGBTQ plus. See the LGBTQ plus refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, cure etc. Here lesbian and gay refers to homosexuals. Then comes the question who are declared as homosexuals? Homosexuals means a person who is sexually attracted to his or her own gender. Now moving on to the next term bisexual. Bisexual refers to the persons who are sexually attracted to both genders that is male and female or to more than one gender ok. Next comes the term transgender. It refers to the people who have a gender identity which is different from their gender identity at birth ok. Now finally coming to the term cure. This particular term is of recent origin and it refers to those people who don't identify themselves with the mainstream heterosexual norm. Simply putting it is an umbrella term which can include every sexual orientation other than the heterosexual ok. Now with this we have seen about all the terms associated with the word LGBTQ plus. With these information now let's see about the main challenges faced by this LGBTQ community in India. Firstly they lack the familial support that is their families do not provide any support to them. This is due to their sexual orientation being different from the broader society. And secondly the societal exclusion is another challenge that is faced by them. Not only the family, each and every one in the society tries to exclude them from this society ok and thirdly they do not have any proper legislation for protection. So these are the major challenges or problems that this LGBT community is facing in India. Now coming to their status of rights in India, see here you have to note that India doesn't have any particular legislation for the protection of the rights of the LGBTQ plus community. Considering this lack of legislation by the Indian government just as Anand Venkatesh of Madras High Court know last year issued some guidelines to be followed by the government institutions. This is to sensitize them about the hardships faced by the LGBTQ plus community. And these guidelines were directed towards central and state social welfare ministries and finally towards the medical commissions. So in this context a new circular was issued by the National Medical Commission. This is what the news article also says ok. And this circular note declares the conversion therapy as professional misconduct. See in legal sense it means an act done willfully with the wrong intention by the people engaged in the profession ok and what is meant by this conversion therapy see it refers to any form of psychiatric treatment or use of psychosomatic drugs, electroshock therapy then exorcism and violence. This conversion therapy is primarily done by doctors and psychiatrists. Note that it is done with the sole aim of changing a person's present sexual orientation. Now how it is affecting this LGBTQ community? Here the cure community who do not have a heterosexual orientation are mostly cheated or misconducted by doctors to undergo sex orientation correction. For example in a gay cure therapy the boy's orientation will be changed from boys to girls that is he will be oriented towards girls. This is what we say that as gay cure therapy. This brings their mental and physical health down. That is why the Indian Medical Council banned this therapy now. See here please don't get confused with gender affirmation or sex reassignment surgery. This surgery refers to procedures that help people's transition to their self identified gender ok. This gender affirming options may include facial surgery, top surgery or bottom surgery. It helps lots of transgenders to change their identity ok and most people who chose gender affirmation surgeries report improved mental health and quality of life. So please don't get confused with this gender affirmation or sex reassignment surgery and this conversion therapy ok both are completely different. The medical commission has only banned this conversion therapy and not the gender affirmation or sex reassignment surgery ok. Also note that the judiciary in the year 2018 stuck down section 377 of the IPC or Indian Penal Code. See this section 377 criminalized the consensual sexual intercourse between two adults of the same gender. Thus by banning this many stigmas were taken away and the community began their first step towards equality am I right? And from these two instances we can see a consistent effort is being taken by judiciary to protect the rights of the LGBTQ plus population. Now let us look at the other efforts taken by government to sensitize people about the LGBTQ plus community. Recently you would have come across the news that the Tamil Nadu state government has released a glossary of terms relating to the LGBTQ plus community in Tamil. It was done with the primary aim to sensitize the government officials to identify and address different people among the LGBTQ plus community ok. This particular initiative can be adopted in other parts of the country as well. Now coming to the other efforts which can be taken to address the challenges faced by the community firstly the school textbooks should be updated to acknowledge the differences of human beings and also about how it is perfectly normal to have a different sexual orientation ok. And secondly the parliament has to come forward with the special legislation. This is to cater to the needs of the LGBTQ plus community as it did in the case of trans genders in the year 2019 ok. And finally we as individuals should be inclusive in our approach towards accepting this LGBTQ plus community into the mainstream society. The suggestions can be included by you while writing your main answers because these will make your answers look unique ok. Always have in mind that you should not end just with the challenges always give a solution to the challenges or the problems that you are quoting in your main answers ok. So through this discussion we saw about the term LGBTQ and also about the challenges faced by them then we saw what are the judicial interventions taken to protect this community and we also saw what the government efforts has to be taken or taken by the state governments ok. So with this we had holistically covered the term LGBTQ and community and this will definitely help in both your problems as well as the main answers ok. So these key points in mind now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Have a look at this news article. See the news article reports about a new technology developed by ISRO that is Indian space research organization and this technology is called inflatable aerodynamic decelerator that is IAD ok. So today let us see what is it and its significance ok. See basically this inflatable aerodynamic decelerator or IAD is a system to recover spent rocket stages ok. See many metallic and other solid heavier than air objects are propelled into the atmosphere by the launch vehicles. These objects include spent rockets, payloads etc. Now all these objects land back on earth and they more or less follow ballistic trajectories ok. Our focus is on spent rockets today. So what is it? These are the residual casing or shell of a solid propellant rocket. These residual parts are the ones left after burnout when the propellant has been exhausted and expelled as exhaust ok. As I said spent rockets come back to earth. Now before these spent rockets were not used to be recovered but on the other hand most payloads are recovered for data extraction, inspection, refurbishing and prospective reuse. How they recover payloads? It is normally done by first separating the payload from the final stage and then deploying a parachute at about a definite altitude ok. Now since parachute is attached to payload it decelerates and floats down at a rate and in a direction which is determined by local wind conditions. Then from the radio signals from the payload it is located and taken back to the space organization which launched it. So if you ask me if there is no recovery system then will the whole rocket burn out unless the rocket explodes it will come back to earth. See in the absence of a recovery device in a rocket it may not explode but it will come back to earth much like a missile with a supersonic speed ok. See this will cause damage to the surroundings or injure people. This is why recovery system are important as it serves two important functions. It prevents damage to the rocket that would otherwise occur from its descent to earth and it also prevents the rocket from doing harm to people or property when falling ok. There are many types of recovery systems and now the news is that ISRO has tested a recovery system. It is the inflatable aerodynamic decelerator. It has been designed and developed by Vikram Sarabhai Space Center. Note that this is the first time that an inflatable aerodynamic decelerator is designed specifically for spent stage recovery ok. Now come to its features and how it works. See the IAD or the inflatable aerodynamic decelerator includes an inflatable device and an inflatant. The inflatant is configured to fill the inflatable envelope to an inflated state. After that the inflatable envelope surrounds the payload causing aerodynamic forces to decelerate the payload. So the IAD aerodynamically decelerates an object descending through the atmosphere that is it systematically reduces the velocity of the payload through aerodynamic drag. It is designed to follow a predicted trajectory and the inflatable structure is made out of Kevlar fabric. It is coated with polychloroprene. See in the test flight IAD is folded and inside the payload bay of the rocket. IAD uses compressed nitrogen which is stored in a gas bottle to inflate and this is how it looks before and after it inflates ok. See during the test stage the IAD was inflated at around 84 kilometer altitude. Now after re-entry the IAD falls into the sea where it is deflated by firing a deflation pyro valve ok. Now due to its successful test of light the IAD offers huge potential in variety of space applications and as we saw it can be used in recovery of spin stages of rocket. Along with this it can also be used for landing payloads on to other planets like Mars or Venus and it can also be used in making space habitat for human space flight missions ok. Due to its multiple possible applications IAD is termed as a game changer. So overall the IAD demonstration provides us two benefits. Firstly it offers a cost effective spin stage recovery and secondly to use reusable rockets. This will reduce launch cost ok. So that's all about this news article. See in this news article we covered an important science topic which is the inflatable aerodynamic decelerator. In prelims perspective this is very much important. Also it means if they ask what are all the benefits of finding the inflatable aerodynamic decelerator you can quote whatever points we discussed today that is more than enough ok. So 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 mentions about a first of its kind initiative in India that has been announced by the Department of Science and Technology. The announcement is setting up of India's first dark sky reserve at Hannel in Ladakh. So in this discussion let us see what is a dark sky reserve and why this place is chosen for the reserve ok. Now let me tell you what is a dark sky first. They are places in which light pollution is sufficiently low. In these places the wildlife residents and visitors are able to live under a starry sky and they can be acquainted with the Milky Wave Galaxy because the dark sky offers stellar celestial landscapes. This dark sky is achieved by protecting the night sky ok. See the natural night sky is a common and universal heritage and the night time environment is a precious natural resource for all life on earth. As you know sky is full of stars but this beauty cannot be enjoyed in the daytime due to the light from the sun. Thus night time is the best period to enjoy a sky brimming with stars. So the help of night sky only we navigated the globe learned about expanding universe and even discovered that humans are made of star dust ok. So this has inspired not only science but also religion, philosophy, art and literature. You would be familiar with the famous painting of Van Gogh called the Starry Night. It was painted in 1889 in Saint Remy a place in France and this was inspired by the night sky only. But the issue is even if Van Gogh was alive in the current time he could not have painted this now because currently in Saint Remy the night sky with stars is not visible. This is the situation all around the world. The newest generations are unable to enjoy the night sky. Sometimes they even don't know about it. This is the resultant of mainly the light pollution that is the inappropriate and excessive use of artificial lights. This causes urban sky glow then light trespass glare and clutter. So what leads to this? See it is the glow of uncontrolled outdoor lighting then lights on in unoccupied buildings, unshielded lights, light festivals and elimination events done for commercial, promotional or creative purposes then etc etc. See all these know are causing what excessive light. All these have hidden the stars and changed our perception of the night. So to save the night sky an organization called International Dark Sky Association is working on this. It is US based non-profit organization. To safeguard the night sky it designates sites as international dark sky places. The International Dark Sky Association does not select international dark sky places. But rather a site is nominated by a group or individual with a comprehensive application. When such a designation is received that site has to follow certain guidelines. For example the local lighting authorities are asked to replace the lights to comply with dark sky standards. Simply they are advocated to install the right light in the right place at the right time with the right intensity. So you can understand that protecting dark skies does not mean banning all lights. Basically by controlling light pollution dark sky is achieved. In this image you can see how after light pollution is controlled we can see the dark sky brimming with the stars. So what is the benefit of this international dark sky places? See it helps enhance the visibility of designated locations. Thereby enabling us to enjoy the night sky. Along with this it also fosters increased tourism and local economic activity. Now know that there are five categories of designations given to the international dark sky places. Each category has its own set of guidelines based on land management, size and sky quality. They are the international dark sky communities, international dark sky parks, then international dark sky reserves, international dark sky sanctuaries and urban night sky places. Today let us see about international dark sky reserves alone. Okay see it is a public or private land of substantial size of at least 700 kilometers square. Such land possessors an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and nocturnal environment. Such an environment is specifically or legally protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage or public enjoyment. Okay see the designation is offered to sites which are either fully or partly accessible to the public. And these reserves consist of a dark core zone surrounded by a populated periphery called the buffer zone. The core area meets the minimum criteria for sky quality and natural darkness. Here the night sky brightness is routinely equal to or darker than 20 magnitudes per square arc second. Okay and in the buffer zone no policy controls are enacted to protect the darkness of the core. So buffer supports the dark sky preservation in the core. Okay such reserves are formed through a partnership of multiple land managers and through regulations and long-term planning. Know that for this designation robust community support for dark sky production is to be demonstrated. Okay these are the goals or objectives behind the international dark sky reserve designation. Okay also know that totally as of January 2022 there are 195 certified international dark sky places in the world. You can just have a look at this map and know that as of now there are no international dark sky places in India. Okay now to solve this only the Department of Science and Technology has announced the setting up of India's first dark sky place at Hanuman Lada. The press release from government mentions it as reserves as well as sanctuary. Okay but criteria for both are different so we have to wait and see whether it is designated as a international dark sky reserve or international dark sky sanctuary. Okay for this a tripartite memorandum of understanding has been signed among the Ladakh Union Heritage Administration, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. Okay it is expected that the dark sky place will be completed within the next three months. Let us know about Hanel and why it is chosen. See Hanel is a part of Changtang Wildlife Sanctuary in Ladakh. Hanel is situated 4,500 meter above the sea level and is one of the world's highest located sites. It is located in Ladakh cold desert region. It is away from any form of human disturbance mainly it has clear sky conditions and dry weather conditions that exist throughout the year. These conditions also make it suitable for using telescopes like optical infrared and gamma ray telescopes. So this makes it as one of the world's most optimal sites for astronomical studies plus it will enable in viewing the starry sky. This is why the high altitude station of the Indian Institute of Astronomics which is Indian Astronomical Observatory is also located in Hanel. Okay so that's all about this news article. See this news article though reminds very factual it is very much useful for your preliminary examination. Okay because we had covered about what is this dark sky and what is this dark sky place or reserve or sanctuary or whatever it is and we saw that India is to begin its first dark sky reserve and the location that it has chosen regarding that also we saw in this news article. So whatever question is coming based on this in prelims examination you can easily handle with this information. This is more than enough. Okay so with these key points in mind now let's move on to the next part of the news article discussion which is the preliminary practice question discussion. See today we have three questions in which two I will be discussing and one will be a quiz question for you. Okay now look at this first question. See a few crops are given and we are asked to find which of the crops are given MSP by the government. Okay before looking at the answer let us see what is MSP. See minimum support price is a form of market intervention by the government of India and this is to ensure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices. Okay the minimum support prices are announced by the government of India at the beginning of the sowing season for certain crops and this is on the basis of the recommendations of the commission for agricultural cost and prices that is CACP okay. See the government now announces the MSP for 22 mandated crops and the fair and remunerative prices is announced for the sugarcane separately okay. See the mandated crops are 14 cariff crops, 6 rabi crops and two other commercial crops and in addition to this the MSPs of Toria and D. Huskok net are fixed on the basis of the MSPs of rapeseed or mustard and cobra respectively okay. So the list of crops are just given below you just go through it once then we will get back to the question okay. So now what is the answer for this question? Yes the answer is option B one, two, four and six only that is cotton, maize, jute and groundnut only these are getting MSP other than that nothing else is getting MSP okay. See MSP is a favorite topic in prelims so just have a note on it always okay. Now coming to the second question see it is a two statement kind of question so we are going to go through both the statements before arriving at the answer okay. Now look at statement one see it is incorrect read it carefully it mentions the criteria for both reserves and sanctuaries as we saw the criteria varies for all categories of international dark sky places okay. First is the international dark sky communities these communities are legally organized cities and towns that adopt quality outdoor lighting ordinances and they undertake efforts to educate residents about the importance of dark skies okay. And the second one is the international dark sky parks such parks are publicly owned or privately owned spaces and these are protected for natural conservation that implement good outdoor lighting and they provide dark sky programs for visitors okay. And the next one is the international dark sky reserves we saw this during discussion itself am I right so we need not discuss about this now. And the fourth one is the international dark sky sanctuaries these sanctuaries are the most remote and often darkest places in the world and the conservation of these is most fragile okay. And finally comes the urban night sky places these are sites near or surrounded by large urban environments whose planning and designing actively promote an authentic nighttime experience okay. See they are the ones at the most of significant artificial light at night and also know that the night sky brightness is applicable for reserves parks and sanctuaries only for example if you take parts the night sky brightness is routinely equal to or darker than 21.2 magnitudes per square arc second and for reserves if you take it is equal to or darker than 20 magnitudes per square arc second and for sanctuaries know the night sky brightness is equal to or darker than 21.5 magnitudes per square arc second okay. So statement one is incorrect and statement two is also incorrect as of now there are no international dark sky places in India okay. So now what is the answer here since the question is demanding for correct statements the answer here is option D neither one nor two okay. And now displayed here is a quiz question for you see this is such a easy question if you are keenly observed the discussion you will be able to answer this question okay. And now displayed here is a main question for you see go through the question try to write answer for this question and post it in the comment section okay on the answer for the quiz question will be posted in the comment section itself and interested aspirants can attend the poll session also. So that's all for today and before ending our session we have an announcement for you see the pre-storming Tessiris batch one is to start from 19th of September okay and the starting date for orientation will be 12th of September and note that it is only in Ananagar and it is only in offline mode and there will be 66 tests which covers GS, CSAT and your mock test also okay. And if the students had missed the offline test they can take the test on online after two days okay this is through the quiz key portal but only recorded discussions will be provided for them and the online mode test availability is until our mock test before prelims 2023 exam okay. And the examination timing will be 2 pm to 4 pm that will be followed by the live discussion from 4 30 to 7 30 pm and also the explanation key and recorded discussions will be provided for you. So aspirants please don't waste this opportunity enrolling the Tessiris as soon as possible which will be very much useful in succeeding in your preliminary examination okay. So that's all for today if you like this video do like share and comment and don't forget to subscribe to the Shankar IS Academy's YouTube channel. Thank you for listening.