 Welcome to Hindi News Analysis by Shankar Ayes Academy. The list of topics chosen for today's discussion along with the page numbers is given here for your reference. Today, we are going to discuss wide range of topics including history, economy, geography, and international relations. Let us start today's analysis with these news articles. These news articles are with reference to various measures announced by RBI Governor yesterday. We will see some of the measures and the related concepts in this discussion. The syllabus relevant further analysis is given here for your reference. See, we know that as a response to the economic impact due to COVID-19, RBI announced a set of measures on March 27 for banks and also for those who have taken loans from banks. These set of measures announced on March 27 were called as COVID-19 regulatory package. Under this, in respect to all term loans, banks were permitted to grant a moratorium of three months on payment of all installments, that is between March and May. This measure was further extended for three more months from June to August. Similar to this, earlier there was a measure to postpone payment of interest for three months on working capital facilities as well. This again has been extended by three more months. See, here working capital loan refers to loan facility availed by companies to run their day to day operations. Although the news article reports that loans will not be classified by the lender as non-performing. In addition to this, exemption from being classified as defaulter is also being given. These measures have come as a great relief for customers who have taken loans from banks. Here customers include both individuals and businesses. Particularly, experts say that these measures will ease the financial burden on businesses due to extended lockdown. Another important measure taken by RBI during the monetary policy committee meet is to reduce the repo rate by 40 basis points. So with this rate cut, currently the repo rate is 4%. See experts across different sectors have welcomed these RBI's measures. With the reduction in repo rate, the idea is that banks will reduce the lending rates for customers. So what is this repo rate? If you see, repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow money from RBI by selling its securities. This borrowed money is used to give loans to customers. When this rate is reduced, the obligation for the banks is to reduce the interest rate for customers as well. This is what is referred to interest rate transmission in one of the news articles. In this context, the finance minister asked the public sector banks to reduce the lending rates to kickstart the economy. And this is why the author of editorial states that the announced measures reduce the cost of capital. If you see, we have spoken about repo rate and monetary policy committee. So what is the connection between the repo rate and monetary policy committee? See the RBI Act 1934 provides for constitution of a six-member monetary policy committee. The RBI governor will be its chairperson. As per this act, the monetary policy committee shall determine the policy rate required to achieve the inflation target. So the repo rate deduction is the decision of monetary policy committee which is binding on Reserve Bank of India. So far we talked about domestic economic revive measures. What about the measures for export sector? See with reference to export sector, the RBI has decided to extend a line of credit of rupees 15,000 crore to Exim Bank. This credit facility is to enable Exim Bank to meet its foreign currency resource requirements and also to enable it to avail a US dollar swap facility. In this context and with respect to situation in the economy, the RBI governor has stated that the domestic economic activity has been impacted severely by the two-month lockdown. The top six industrialized states in India which are account for more than 60% of industrial output are largely in red or orange zones. And in addition to this, there is also a significant drop in demand in the economy in both rural and urban areas from March due to lockdown. In this scenario, the proposed measures are expected to revive the economy and augment the growth in the country. As a part of Prelims Preparation, we should also know about long-term repo operations and targeted long-term repo operations. We have discussed both the terms in our Target Prelims series of February month. We request you to watch that video to get detailed understanding of long-term repo operations as well as targeted long-term repo operations. These are some of the important information present across these news articles. In this news analysis, we have spoken about extension of moratorium, reduction of repo rate, about monetary policy committee, loan facility to Exim Bank, as well as long-term repo operations. The displayed practice question will be discussed at the end of the session. With this, we have come to the end of this news article. Let us move on to the next news article. This discussion is based on these editorials and this news article, which talks about recent India-Napal border dispute. The syllabus relevant for this discussion is given here for your reference. The recent dispute between India-Napal started after the inauguration of a road from Darjula to Lipulek by India's defense minister. We have covered about this topic on 11th May. Please watch that video to get detailed understanding of this topic. Now the contention is, the government of Nepal raised an issue by saying that the recently inaugurated road passes through a territory that Nepal claims and thus it is a unilateral decision by India and also a breach of an agreement between the two countries. In addition, Nepal also increased the number of security outposts and deployed more armed personnel in the border. Additionally, Nepal government also authorized a new map extending Nepal's territory which includes the disputed Kalapani region, Limpia Dura and Lipulek as well. This has been called by India as artificial enlargement of territorial claims and is not acceptable to India. So what is the background for this dispute? If you see, India-Napal border is based on the Treaty of Sugowli which was signed in 1816 between East India Company and Kingdom of Nepal. According to the author, before this treaty, the Nepalese Kingdom stretched from Suttles River in the west to Teesta River in the east. Since Nepal lost the Anglo-Napalese War of 1816, this led to signing of 1816 Treaty which limited Nepal's territory to its present boundaries. So according to this treaty, Raja of Nepal renounced all claims to lands lying to the west of river Kali. But here what Nepal claims is, the tributary that joins the Mahakali river at Kalapani is not the Kali river. Nepal also maintains that Kali river lies further west to Lipulek Pass so they are claiming the land up to Kali river. And so Nepal states that their claim is not disputable. However, the survey of India map since the 1870s showed that the area of Lipulek down to Kalapani as a part of British India. Until now, this was not objected. This contention has arised because India did not exist as a country in 1816 when the Treaty of Sugowli was signed. So this is one among many reasons why India's present borders with neighbors are disputed. Because they were drawn by the erstwhile British and India just inherited the boundaries of British India. In this regard, to solve border disputes, India and Nepal established a joint Technical Level Boundary Committee in 1981. This is to resolve differences of alignment of boundaries and to complete the demarcation of Indo-Napal border. Later in 1994, this Joint Technical Level Boundary Committee constituted a joint working group. This working group was mandated to examine the relevant facts regarding the western areas including the Kalapani region. So according to the author, by 2007, the working group completed the preparation of strip maps which was agreed upon by the surveyors of both sites. These strip maps covered almost 98% of boundary between the countries except for the two disputed areas of Kalapani and Susta. Later based on these improvements, Nepal-India boundary working group was set up in 2014. This is to carry out works in the fields of construction, restoration and repair of boundary pillars and other technical tasks. Since so much of work is already done, according to author, the remaining issues concerning the boundary are not difficult to resolve. Hence, the way forward here is the approval of strip maps by the respective governments. This assumes significance because Nepal government did not approve strip maps yet. After approving the strip maps and resolving differences of opinion over Kalapani and Susta, the demarcation of entire India-Napal boundary can be carried out. So author concludes that Indo-Napal border issue is solvable and it can be easily attained if there is a political goodwill on both sides. Author also seems to be optimistic since India and Nepal have been friendly neighbors for many decades. Hence both countries need to cool down and diffuse this issue, otherwise it will be counter productive to both the sides. The same view was echoed by the author of next article as well. The author of this editorial noted that the issue has become so tense since India rebuffed Nepal's attempts to solve the issue. For example, in several instances, India rejected the Nepal's proposal to convene a meeting for solving this issue. As a conclusion, we can say that India must not delay dealing with this matter as we are already handling the pandemic on one side and face off with China on the other side. With this, we have come to the end of this news article. The displayed practice question will be discussed at the end of session. Let us move on to the next news article. This question is framed based on this news article which talks about an initiative of AP government. See, AP government has come up with a MSME revive package called Restart. This package includes the payment of all sanctioned but outstanding incentives to MSME units, working capital loans for MSMEs along with preferential market access for medium and small enterprises. Also know that any type of MSME unit applying for this restart package will be allotted a 12-digit unique ID known as Parisrama Adar. This unique ID captures the particulars of the enterprise including the location, category, whether it is micro or small or medium. This move is expected to help in forward and backward linkages of units along with the MSME ecosystem, which is closely tied to large and mega units in the state. Let's get back to the question. Restart, a government initiative to revive MSMEs is announced by the correct answer is option A, Andhra Pradesh. Let us move on to the next news article. This question is based on this news article which talks about Open Skies Treaty. So what is Open Skies Treaty? See it is an agreement that allows member countries to monitor signatories arms development by conducting surveillance flights over each other's territories. Simply, the treaty allows its members to conduct unarmed reconnaissance flights over the territory of treaty countries. See the idea behind Open Skies Treaty was first proposed in the early years of Cold War by the former US President Eisenhower. However, decades later the treaty entered into force in 2002. So the basic objective of this treaty is to enhance mutual understanding and confidence by giving all participants a direct role in gathering information through aerial imaging on military forces and activities concerning them. This treaty is one of the most wide-ranging international arms control efforts to date to promote openness and transparency in military forces and activities. As of now, 34 states signed and ratified this treaty while the 35th country, Kyrgyzstan has signed but not ratified it yet. In the film's perspective, note that India is not a member of this treaty. The recent development is, US has given notice that it will exit the Open Skies Treaty. The US said that it would withdraw from the treaty as Russia had repeatedly violated the norms of the treaty. In this line, US has given a notice to exit the treaty. With this information, let's get back to the question. Consider the following statements with reference to Open Skies Treaty. The statement one, it is an agreement that allows member countries to monitor signatories arms development by conducting unarmed surveillance flights over each other state trees. Yes, this statement one is correct. The statement two says, India has signed the treaty in 2016 but not ratified yet. No, this statement is incorrect. So the question demands us to identify the incorrect statements. So the correct answer is option B2 only. Let us move on to the next news article. This question is based on this news article which mentions that the UN Secretary General's envoy on youth has listed Kudol or Kudol among the top 10 global initiatives for an inclusive fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. See Kudol or Kudol means gift in Manipuri. Know that this initiative is a people-led initiative which is implemented by a youth network known as Yawol. See Yawol is a youth queer-led and youth queer-focused registered youth network in Manipur and northeast. These queer people are working at grassroots level on youth and queer issues. So this initiative was launched with the theme of joy and sharing. Know that the first edition of this initiative was launched in December 2018 to collect and donate items like books, stationaries, clothes to the people who are in need. And currently under this crowdfunding initiative, Yawol is providing assistance and reaching out to some of the most affected individuals which haven't got support from any sources as part of COVID-19 relief work. Through this initiative, they reach out to marginalized and unsupported families across Manipur. This includes the families of daily wage workers, labor, construction workers, LGBT or queer community, people with disabilities, sex workers, people living with HIV, migrants, etc. So currently the initiative involves ensuring food supplies and health services to the people who are in dire need. Now if you look at the question, the Kudol or Kudol initiative recently seen in news is related to. You can easily identify the answer, that is, option C. A crowdfunded initiative in Manipur providing assistance to marginalized and unsupported families which haven't got support from any sources as part of COVID-19 relief work. Let us move on to the next news article. This question is with reference to these news articles which deal with invasion of locusts over areas in Pakistan and in India in Madhya Pradesh. In March 2020, it was reported news that India was free from desert locust. Even in our target UPSC Prelims 2020 series for the month of December, we have said that the situation with respect to desert locust is extremely alarming in Horn of Africa. This was because of widespread breeding of desert locust in that region. See locust belongs to grasshopper family, they are migratory in nature and they have voracious feeding behavior. Voracious means wanting great quantities of food. A locust swarm is nothing but a congregation of millions of individual locusts. These swarms move around 100 to 150 kilometers every day during sunlight. In the evenings, they settle around farmlands and attack them. Therefore, locusts are a major threat to food drops and food security in South Asian region and southwest Asia. Out of all locust species, it is reported that desert locust which is called as Sister Circus Grigaria is the most devastating locust and Indian agriculture is highly prone to this desert locust called Sister Circus Grigaria. Recently, a heavy invasion of such desert locust swarms have come to Pakistan and have threatened food security there. From Pakistan, small swarms of desert locusts have come to Rajasthan and even reached up to Madhya Pradesh. So, we can understand from here that this problem requires cross-border effort to mutually assist in this regard. Therefore, India has proposed a trilateral arrangement of support against the locust impacts. This trilateral arrangement includes India, Iran and Pakistan. In addition, India has also pledged to support Pakistan in the fight against locusts by supplying Malathion. Know that Malathion is a locust insecticide. Regarding this locust problem, Pakistan has already received assistance from China. So far, it didn't state its position on India's proposal of trilateral arrangement to fight the locust impact. With this information, let's get back to the question. The question says, the term Malathion recently seen in news is, From the options, you can easily arrive at the answer, that is, option C, an insecticide associated with killing desert locusts. Therefore, the correct answer is option C. Let us move on to the next news article. This question is based on this news article which talks about China's digital currency. According to the news article, China seeks to be the first major economy to launch an official digital currency. See, China rolled out a pilot testing of its digital yuan in four urban areas. The end goal is to have a full-fledged functionality of digital yuan by 2022 Olympics, which are scheduled in Beijing. The People's Bank of China, which is the country's central bank, will be the sole issuer of this digital currency. The national digital currency would be centralized, meaning that the central bank would be able to monitor and regulate the transactions within that network. So what is a digital currency? It is a medium of exchange which is generated, stored and transferred electronically. But examples can be Facebook's Libra, Bitcoin, Ether, etc. If you see, cryptocurrency is also a form of digital currency. These cryptocurrencies are based on the blockchain technology. Know that blockchain technology is a decentralized database stored across a network of computers where all transactions are public and no single user has permission to alter other people's accounts. Also, the cryptocurrencies are not controlled by any central entity. In that sense, China's yuan will probably not be a cryptocurrency since it is centralized and the central bank would be able to monitor and regulate the transactions. Also know that digital yuan is purely backed by Chinese currency renminbi. Dear viewers, we have covered in-depth about on cryptocurrencies in our 5th March Hindu analysis video as well as in our July video of target 2020 premium series. Please watch them to get a detailed understanding on cryptocurrencies. With this information, let's get back to the question. See the statement 1 is correct since it rightly defines the term digital currency. The second statement says that all digital currencies are cryptocurrencies. This statement is incorrect since all digital currencies are not cryptocurrencies. It is based on the underlying technology the currencies are classified into cryptocurrency virtual currency and so on. If a digital currency uses blockchain technology, it is called cryptocurrency. Not all currencies use blockchain technology. So statement 2 is incorrect. But we can say that all cryptocurrencies are digital currencies. And coming to statement 3, it says that Libra, Bitcoin and Ether are some of the examples of these currencies. Yes, this statement is also correct. So the correct answer for this question is option C 1 and 3 only. Now let us take up other practice questions. See this question appeared in prelims 2017. The question is which of the following statements are correct regarding the Monetary Policy Committee. In today's analysis, we have talked about RBI's Monetary Policy Committee and how it was set up under RBI Act 1934. The statement 1 says it decides the RBI's benchmark interest rates. Yes, this statement is correct. We have talked about it in our discussion today. The second statement, it is a 12 member body, including the governor of RBI and is reconstituted every year. This statement is incorrect since Monetary Policy Committee consists of only 6 members and not 12 members. So statement 2 is incorrect. Therefore, you can eliminate options B and D. As you know, statement 1 is correct. So you can arrive at the answer option A that is 1 only. Also know that statement 3 is incorrect because the Monetary Policy Committee functions under the chairmanship of RBI governor and not union finance minister. Next, let us take up this main question. Discuss various measures announced by Reserve Bank of India as a part of COVID-19 regulatory package. See, we have talked a lot about RBI's regulatory package and recent developments regarding governor's decisions yesterday. We have talked in depth about these measures. So you can start with the introduction stating that RBI has come up with so and so package or you can start like this to revive Indian economy which was impacted by COVID-19. RBI has come up with a regulatory package and you can talk about measures like moratorium and payment of all installments in term loans. That is between March and August 2020. Also, we have talked about working capital facilities. Their payment of interest is also deferred for six months. Also, exemption is being given from classifying as defaulter in supervising reporting and reporting to create information companies. We have also talked about RBI to extend line of create of Rs 15,000 crore to Exim Bank. You can discuss about all these points and end with a proper conclusion. Let us take up one more main question. See, boundary disputes are common ground for countries that have an ancient history and shared borders. Do you agree with the view that the Kalapani dispute between India and Nepal is a matter best handled bilaterally through quiet diplomacy? Give arguments to justify your opinion. See, in today's analysis, we have talked about Kalapani dispute, what is Nepal's claim and what is India's claim. So you can start answer by explaining the Kalapani dispute and you can write the claims of both India and Nepal. Don't forget to draw a map that is Nepal, India and China, the border, the Lipu Lake Pass, the Kalapani dispute and how the contested land is important for both Nepal as well as India. If you are agreeing with the opinion given in the question, you can write points like this. India and Nepal are friendly neighbors and their relation is known for decades and India should respect Nepal sovereignty. Jawaharlal Nehru in his book Discovery of India wrote that Nepal has been the only truly independent country of South Asia. You can mention this point. Also, you can talk about Nepal's political leaders contributing to India's struggle for freedom. Also, the people-to-people relationship between India and Nepal. We have also discussed about joint-level technical boundary committee that 98% border is agreed upon by both the sides. Only needed thing is the Nepalese government's approval over this 98% of strip maps. The two disputed territories can be resolved in a similar way. If not handled quickly, the dispute between India and Nepal will benefit the adversaries of both the countries. If you are not agreeing with the view given in the question, you can take an opposite stand that why India should stand firm in its claim. For example, 1816 Sugawari Treaty you can write about where Nepal's king renounced his rights to the British and you can also talk about Nepal's government's unreasonable claim on India's territories and Nepal's Prime Minister rude comments on India and the Nepal Prime Minister is using this as an opportunity to hide his government's incompetence and failure to meet the basic needs of people and to divert attention of their people. He's using this call upon issue with India. You can write points like this if you're not agreeing with the opinion given in the question. If you have other points, you can write them and you can end with a proper conclusion depending on the view you have taken. See, we have given framework for both main questions. We request you to write the answers and post them in comment section. We'll get back to you within short time with the necessary feedback. Only way to improve your main's answer writing is by writing more answers and getting them evaluated. So please write as many as answers possible. With this, we conclude today's analysis. If you find this session resourceful, click on the like button and show your appreciation in the comment section below. And don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel.