 Hello and welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankar A.S. Academy. News articles along with the page numbers from different editions of the Hindu are displayed here for your convenience. The PDF link of the handwritten notes and the timestamping of the news articles is given in the description box and also in the comment section. Let's start with the first news article analysis. This discussion is about forest fires, if you remember that the year 2019 ended with Amazon forest fires and the year 2020 started with bushfires of Australia. Even in India, the forest fires are not uncommon, that is every year many forest fires happen across the country which endanger India's ecology and its associated biodiversity. But remember that the forest fires are not always bad. For this topic, the relevant syllabus is given here for your reference. Now in today's news item which says that National Green Tribunal has given one month time to the Kerala Forest Department for submitting its report on the steps taken to prevent forest fires and to implement the National Action Plan on forest fires in the state of Kerala. So in this context, let us discuss in brief about forest fires, then various causes of forest fires, then consequences and above all how to control forest fires. What is a forest fire? The simple definition is that forest fire involves widespread fire happening in the forest areas which usually burns away the existing flora and fauna. Having said that forest fires pose a great threat not only to the forest wealth but also to the entire ecosystem that is it disturbs the biodiversity and the ecology and the environment of the affected region. So during summer season, when there is no rain for months, the forest become littered with dry fallen leaves which could burst into flames ignited by the slightest spark. For example, the Himalayan forest, particularly Garhwal Himalayas have been burning regularly during the last few summers with colossal loss of vegetation cover of that region. Now what could be the fundamental causes for the frequent forest fires? And the reasons are very simple and can be broadly classified into natural causes and anthropogenic causes. So we can say that lightening, frictioning of rolling stone, volcanic explosions as natural causes for forest fires while shifting cultivation or negligence by tourists come under manmade or anthropogenic causes. So all the causes and their classification are given here for your reference. Now the question is whether forest fires are good or bad? This can be easily understood if you are aware of the consequences of the forest fires. We know that forest fires are a major cause of forest degradation and have wide ranging adverse ecological, economic and social impacts. And these impacts include loss of valuable timber resources, degradation of catchment areas, loss of biodiversity, an extension of plant and animal species, then loss of wildlife habitat which could lead to depletion of wildlife species, then the other impacts like global warming, loss of carbon sink resources which could increase the percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, then change in the microclimate of the region, then the other impacts includes soil erosion and ozone layer depletion. Forest fires also impact loss of livelihood for tribal people and the nearby rural areas and it was estimated that about 300 million people are directly dependent upon the collection of non-timber forest products from forest areas for their livelihood. So we can say that forest fires cause imbalance in nature and can endanger biodiversity by reducing or by harming floral and wildlife wealth. Now the question is, can't we control forest fires? To contain forest fires, government came up with national action plan on forest fires in 2018. This plan is to minimize forest fires by informing, by enabling and empowering forest fringe communities in order to mitigate forest fires effectively and this plan also incentivize these communities in order to work in tandem with the forest departments. The plan also aims at enhancing the capabilities of forest and other personal and associated institutions in fighting against forest fires so that we can effectively reduce response time in case of forest fire. Know that government is implementing the forest fire prevention and management scheme that is FPM which is a centrally sponsored scheme dedicated to assist the state governments in dealing with forest fires. The scheme that is the forest fire prevention and management replaced the erstwhile intensification of forest management scheme in 2017. So by revamping erstwhile scheme, the present forest fire prevention and management scheme has increased the amount dedicated for the forest fire work. Know that the aims of the scheme are also similar to that of national action plan on forest fires such as minimizing forest fire incidents, partnering with forest fringe communities for forest protection. So in addition to government schemes, the traditional methods of fire prevention are also effective if it is effectively coordinated with the local communities. Furthermore, as a long term strategy, public awareness or community awareness shall be given highest priority in order to mitigate or to prevent forest fires. This is all about forest fires, their impacts and mitigation measures taken by the government. And if you recollect that at the beginning we said that forest fires are not always bad that is a controlled forest fire in which people set intentionally for a specific purpose. Here note that well thought and well managed control burns can be incredibly beneficial for the effective forest management because they can help to stop an out of control wild fires. The technique is very simple which is called as back burning and it involves setting a controlled fire in the reverse path of the approaching wildfire. So all the flammable material is burnt up and extinguished. So when the wildfire approaches there is no fear left for the approaching wildfire and eventually approaching wildfire dies out. In the countries like United States of America or United Kingdom these controlled fires that is the technique of back burning are usually deployed at the intervals of 10 to 2 years in order to maintain uniform growth of forest. With this we have come to the end of analysis of this news article. Now let us proceed to the next news article analysis. We know that in a bid to kickstart economy and to fight against poverty and hunger deaths the government has been relaxing lockdown in a phased manner. And the lockdown for about 80 days has left migrant labour stranded and vulnerable. Now because of a lockdown relaxation millions of migrant workers began to return to their home villages and most of these migrant workers used to work in the construction sector. So because of reverse migration it is observed that a huge demand for work has been noticed in the rural areas. So the government already increased fund allocations under Mahatma Gandhi national rural employment guarantee program in order to provide at least 100 days of unskilled manual work. But it is noticed that there is still huge gap in providing the employment opportunities to the written migrants. So in this context the ministry of gel shikthi has written to various state governments that returning labourers especially those working in the construction sector may be deployed for the completion of works under gel given mission. So this would provide additional employment opportunities and also the early completion of providing functional tap connections to rural households. So in this context we should know about gel given mission and its important objectives and the associated ministry. Know that gel given mission aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual functional household tap connections to all households in the rural areas. The mission aims to provide functional household tap connections to all households by 2024. Know that the vision of gel given mission states that every rural household has a drinking water supply in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on regular basis. So that it will improve the living standards of rural communities. Know that the fund sharing between centre and states is about 90s to 10 for Himalayan states and northeastern states and 100% for union territories and in the ratio of 50 is to 50 for the rest of the states. This scheme is implemented by the ministry of gel shikthi. In this context try to know that other important schemes implemented by the ministry of gel shikthi such as gel shikthi abhyan, national water mission, national mission for clean ganga, then flood management and border areas program and atal boozle yuvashina. And these schemes are important for your prelims examination. Now when it comes to gel shikthi even mission, it has broader objectives like providing functional household tap connections to every rural household, then to prioritize provision of functional household tap connections in quality affected areas, villages in a drought prone and desert areas, sansad others gram yuvashina villages, then providing functional tap connections to schools, aganwadi centres, gram panchayat buildings, health centres, wellness centres and community buildings, then to monitor functionality of tap connections, then to promote and ensure voluntary ownership among local communities, to assist in ensuring sustainability of water supply system like water source, water supply infrastructure and funds for regular operation and maintenance. The mission also empower and develop human resources in the water management sector such as the demands of construction, plumbing, electrical works, water quality management, water treatment, catchment area, conservation and protection etc. are taken care of in short and long term basis. The mission also aims to bring awareness on various aspects and significance of safe drinking water and involvement of various stakeholders in order to make water as everyone's business. This is all about you need to know about gel shikthi even mission. With this information let us proceed to the next news article analysis. This news article says recovery trial finds hydroxychloroquine does not reduce mortality. So in this context we should know about hydroxychloroquine, its various uses and the associated issues. Know that hydroxychloroquine is an anti-malarial drug which is believed to have some meaningful effect or benefit in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. So in this context the union health ministry has said that hydroxychloroquine should be used as early as possible for the treatment of COVID-19 patients except for patients with severe symptoms. The syllabus relevant to the analysis of this news article is highlighted here for your reference. Now hydroxychloroquine which is an anti-malarial drug mainly used to prevent and treat acute attacks of malaria. It is also used to treat other diseases like chronic inflammatory condition of the skin and body and rheumatoid arthritis. Know that hydroxychloroquine is in a class of drugs called anti-malarials. It works by killing the organisms that cause malaria. So we can say that hydroxychloroquine is one of the potent drug for the treatment of malaria. However, it is also believed to have some meaningful effect or benefit for the treatment of COVID-19 disease. We know that the world countries are putting their best efforts to develop early vaccine for the COVID-19 disease. In this context two things are happening. First and foremost is that there is a huge demand for the use of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. On the other side certain section of medical practitioners are questioning the effectiveness of use of hydroxychloroquine. With this information, let's take up the news article. The article says that the new protocol from the Ministry of Health Affairs includes the use of other drugs such as Remdesivo, which is an antiviral drug, then the drug named Tosili Zuma, which is an immunosuppressant drug, and then promotion of convalescent plasma therapy on specific groups of patients. Know that coronavirus disease, that is COVID-19, is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Most people infected with COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. As per the World Health Organization, COVID-19 affects different people in different ways and most of the infected people will develop mild to moderate illness and recover without hospitalization. Most of the common symptoms include fever, dry cough, and tightness. And then less common symptoms include sore throat, diarrhea, conjunctivitis, headache, loss of taste or smell, rashes on skin or discoloration of fingers or toes. As per the World Health Organization, serious symptoms include difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath, chest pain or chest pressure. And then, loss of speech or movement. And we know that there is no effective treatment for COVID-19 disease and world countries are trying to discover effective treatment and also early vaccination for the COVID-19 disease. So in this context, there is also one more article which says that the recovery trial in the United Kingdom finds hydroxychloroquine does not reduce mortality. Know that recovery trial is one of the randomized control trials and we know that randomized control trials involve choosing patients randomly. Randomized control trial is mainly used for clinical purposes or such other socioeconomic studies. So in this recovery trial, it involves assessing five drugs and convalescent plasma therapy for treating COVID-19 patients in the United Kingdom hospitals. It has found that the use of hydroxychloroquine does not give any clinical benefits to COVID-19 patients. It also showed that hydroxychloroquine offers no significant benefit in mortality reduction, that is reducing the death rate of COVID-19 patients. In this context, also know that solidarity trial also been in the news for evolving effective treatment for COVID-19 disease. Know that solidarity trial is an international clinical trial launched by the World Health Organization and its partners. The solidarity trial will compare four treatment options against standard of care to assess their relative effectiveness against COVID-19 pandemic. It is said that randomized clinical trials normally take many years to design and conduct, whereas the solidarity trial will reduce the time taken by at least 80%. So in the context of this news article, try to know about hydroxychloroquine, its various uses and its associated issues, then randomized clinical trial recovery trials and also solidarity trials. Now let us move on to the next news article analysis. Let's take up this question, which is based on common diseases. We have taken this question because we have a relevant news article in the today's newspaper. The news article says that India is an endemic reservoir of the chicken guña virus. From India, the virus was persistently transmitted to other countries such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and China. So in this context, let us discuss in brief about the commonly reported diseases like chicken guña, malaria and dengue. See chicken guña is a mosquito-borne viral disease. It belongs to the alpha virus genus of the family, thoga viride. Know that chicken guña is transmitted from human to human by the bites of infected female mosquitoes such as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. And these two vectors can also transmit other mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue. We know that chicken guña is characterized by an abrupt onset of a fever and frequently accompanied by joint pains. Other common signs and symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rashes. Know that there is no specific anti-viral drug treatment for chicken guña and there is no commercial chicken guña vaccine and treatment is mainly directed at relieving the symptoms of chicken guña fever. Now let us discuss malaria, which is caused by plasmidium parasite and these parasites are spread to human beings through the bites of infected female anopheles mosquitoes called malaria vectors. Know that malaria is an acute febrile illness which means that fever has the common symptom. In a non-humane individual, symptoms usually appear within 10 to 15 days after the infective mosquito bite. The first set of symptoms include having fever, headache and chills. And if not treated within 24 hours, malaria may progress into severe illness often leading to death of the infected persons. Know that malaria is preventable and curable disease, hydroxychloroquine, which is an anti-malarial drug, is commonly used for the treatment of malaria. Now we'll see one more disease that is about dengue, which is a muscatoburn viral disease. It is caused by a virus of the flaviviridae family. Dengue virus is transmitted by female mosquitoes mainly of the species like Aedes aegypti. And to a lesser extent, Aedes albopictus also transmits dengue virus. Remember that these mosquitoes are also vectors for transmission of chicken gunia, yellow fever and Gika virus. In case of dengue virus, the symptoms are high fever with a severe headache, then pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains. And there are no specific vaccination or anti-viral treatments available against dengue fever. However, the symptoms can be managed. Now with this information, let's take up the given question. Here three statements are given and you have to choose correct statements. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the common vectors of chicken gunia, yellow fever and Gika virus. Malaria is caused by plasmodium parasites, which are spread to people through infected female anopheles mosquitoes. Then the third statement says, there are no specific anti-viral treatments against chicken gunia and dengue. Here all the given statements are correct. Therefore, the correct answer is option D one, two and three. Now let's take up this question, which is based on excise duty. We have given this question because we have a relevant news article in the today's newspaper. The former union law minister said that while international crude oil prices were at the lowest level in the past 15 years, but retail prices of petrol and diesel were going up in India and the common people were suffering because of rising fuel prices. The former minister also added that petroling was selling at Rs 71.41 in the year 2014 when international crude oil price was at $106.85. And the price of petrol on 12th June 2020 was at 75.16 rupees when the international crude oil price was at $38. So instead of passing on the benefit of lower crude oil prices to consumers, petrol and diesel prices were high for the seventh time in a row. He also said that the central excise duty and the state's value-added tax accounts for about 69% of the price of the fuel in our country which was higher than anywhere else in the world. So in this context, let us discuss how petrol and diesel prices are taxed in our country. Know that petrol and diesel prices are revised by the oil marketing companies like Indian oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum based on the international prices. So when international crude oil prices are higher, petroleum prices or fuel prices in India move higher side. And if the international crude oil prices drop, we may see drop in the fuel prices. Then the other factors such as demand for fuel in the domestic market, mismatch of demand and supply, various taxes imposed on the fuel, exchange rate of Rs 2, dealer premium and the cost of logistics are the major influencing factors affecting the fuel prices. Now what are the taxes imposed on fuel in our country? Know that excise duty imposed by the central government and the value-added tax imposed by the state government are the two major taxes influencing the price of petrol and diesel. Know that excise duty by the central government is also known as central value-added tax that is a senvat which is a form of indirect tax imposed on goods for their production, licensing and sale. It is levied by the central government and ideally has to be paid by the manufacturer of goods at the time of introduction of goods into the market. Excise duty is the opposite of customs duty that is it applies to domestically manufactured goods whereas customs duty is levied on those goods which are coming from outside of the country. In this context know that the goods and services tax which is a destination-based indirect taxation system which was introduced from 1st July 2017 subsumed many indirect taxes but the taxes that is excise duty on petroleum products and liquor are kept outside of GST system. With this information let's take up the given question here two statements are given and you need to choose correct statements excise duty is a form of indirect tax that is levied on goods coming from outside the country. This statement is incorrect because it is not the excise duty it is the customs duty which is a form of indirect tax which is levied on the goods coming from outside of the country whereas excise duty is also form of indirect tax imposed on domestically manufactured goods. In the second statement excise duty on petroleum products subsumed under the goods and services tax. This statement is also incorrect because taxes on petroleum products on liquor are kept outside of GST tax. So the correct answer for this question is option D neither one nor two. Let's take up this question which is based on the places which are located at the tri-sanctions near international borders. Here places given are Limpia Dura, Kalapani, Lipu Lake, Doklam Valley, Galwan, Debsang, Chushun and then Dipu Pass. We have given this question because we have two relevant news articles in the today's newspaper and this question helps you to revise the ongoing border disputes of India with its neighboring countries. This news article says that on Saturday Nepal's parliament unanimously approved a new map which shows places such as Limpia Dura, Kalapani and Lipu Lake. Know that these three places are strategically important and part of Pithorgad district of Uttarakhand. Now if you look at this news article it reports line of actual control as the line of actual contest. This is because of ongoing territorial dispute between India and China. And this news article exposes unmindful military adventurism by the People's Liberation Army of China. From this news article you need to focus the location of places like Galwan Valley, Pangangso, Daulat Beg Oldi and Chushul. Now we will try to summarize all the important places which have been in the news because of mutual claim which led to border disputes. Try to know about Sarkarik which is located on the international border between India and Pakistan. Then Demchak, Pangangso, Chumur, Chushul, Debsang Plains, Galwan Valley near the line of actual control between India and China. Kauriq near Shipkula Pass in the state of Imachal Pradesh. Then in the state of Uttarakhand the places like Limpiyadura, Kalapani and Lipulik Pass have been in the news because of territorial dispute between India and Nepal. Then Susta which is located between India and Nepal. Then Doklam Valley which is located at the tri-sanktion of international border of Bhutan, India and China. Then Dipu Pass which is also near the tri-sanktion of three countries like India, Myanmar and China. And then Kabul Valley between India and Myanmar. Of these places like Limpiyadura, Kalapani and Lipulik Doklam Valley and Dipu Pass are located at the tri-sanktion. With this information let's take up the given question. Here all the ongoing disputable places are given and if you know Galwan, Debsang and Chushul are part of the Union Territory of Ladakh and geographically located near the line of actual control between India and China. And these places are not located near the tri-sanktions. So if you eliminate a third statement you can arrive at the correct option that is option C1, 2 and 4 only. Let's start our practice question session. With reference to Jaljeevan Mission and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act consider the following statements. Both focuses on improving the living standards of rural households. Both are central sector schemes. Both are implemented by Ministry of Rural Development. So for this question you need to choose correct statements. Your first statement is correct and the second and the third statements are incorrect. Know that both the schemes aims at improving the living standards of households. Both the schemes are centrally sponsored schemes. Know that the objective of Jaljeevan Mission is to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual functional household tap connections to all households in the rural areas. The mission aims to provide functional household tap connections by the end of 2024. This mission is implemented by the Ministry of Jalsekti whereas Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development. The Act aims to provide at least 100 days of unskilled manual work in the rural areas. So out of the given statements only first statement is correct. So the correct answer is option A1 only. Which one of the following statements is correct with reference to hydroxychloroquine? It is an anti-malarial drug. It can be used for the treatment of COVID-19. It is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Then option D, all the statements given above are correct. Know that this is an informative question with reference to hydroxychloroquine which is an anti-malarial drug can be used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and can also be used for the treatment of COVID-19. So the correct answer for this question is option D, all the statements given above are correct. Now let's take up one practice main question which is relevant in GS3 paper. Forest fire is a global problem. How India is affected by forest fires? End list government measures in containing forest fires. This is a 15 month question. You need to write in 250 words and we request to post your written answers in the comment section and your posted answers will be evaluated and suitable feedback will be given within the reasonable timeframe. With this we have come to the end of today's news analysis. 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