 A very good evening to all my dear friends and welcome to the Hindu News Analysis of Shankar IAS Academy for the date 2nd August 2020. The list of the news articles along with the page numbers of five different editions is given here for your reference. And also the time stampings for all the news articles taken up for today's discussion is given in the description section and also in the comment section for the best interest of the viewers. Let us now begin our news analysis. Here we have our first news article which talks about a report of Central Electricity Authority and the report states that Tamil Nadu is likely to have a power surplus for the year 2020-21. So in this context, let us discuss some of the statutory bodies or PSUs which are related to power sector. The syllabus relevant for this particular topic is given here for your reference. Please go through it. First, let us see about Central Electricity Authority or CEA. See it was originally formed under the Repealed Electricity Supply Act of 1948. Later it was substituted by section 70 of the Electricity Act of 2003. It comes under the Ministry of Power and know that CEA was established as a part-time body in 1951 and it was made a full-time body in 1975. Now talking about the vision of CEA, its vision is to ensure reliable 24x7 power supply of adequate quality to all the consumers in the country. And CEA seeks to achieve this vision by providing technical support base to all the stakeholders in the power sector and it also supports Ministry of Power for forming policies in the power sector and to make technical standards and regulations. Now let us see some of the objectives of CEA. First and foremost, it aims to formulate a national electricity plan every five years for optimum utilization of resources available for power generation. And it also aims to satisfy the customers by providing technically sound, optimal and timely solution or advice by achieving customer satisfaction index of 98% by 2021. And another objective is to ensure 100% safety and security in the power system within 10 years. Now we have another body called Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. CERC was initially constituted under the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act of 1998. Now it is a statutory body functioning under section 76 of Electricity Act of 2003. The commission intends to promote competition, efficiency and economy in bulk power markets and it also aims to improve the quality of supply and promote investments. And know that it advises the government on removal of institutional barriers to bridge the demand supply gap and thus foster the interest of consumers. Now let us discuss some of the functions of this commission. One of the mandatory functions of CERC is to regulate the tariff of generating companies on or controlled by the center. And this is regulated if they have a composite scheme for generation and sale of electricity in more than one state. And know that they also regulate the interstate transmission of electricity and determines the tariff for this interstate transmission of electricity. Apart from this CERC also has some advisory functions. They are formulation of national electricity policy and tariff policy, then promotion of competition, efficiency and economy in the activities of electricity industry and also the promotion of investment in the electricity industry. Finally, we will discuss about a PSU which is in the power sector. And this is REC Limited or Rural Electrification Corporation Limited. See REC is a Navaratna Central Public Sector Undertaking and it comes under the Ministry of Power and it is a leading infrastructure finance company with a net worth of more than 34,000 crore. And know that REC finances projects in the complete power sector value chain be it generation, transmission or distribution. And it also provides financial assistance to state electricity boards, state governments, central or state power utilities, independent power producers, rural electric cooperatives and private sector utilities. The main objective of REC is to facilitate availability of electricity for accelerated growth and for enrichment of quality of life for rural and urban population. And note that REC is the nodal agency for implementation of Saubhagya scheme that is PM Sahaj Bijli Hargar Yojana. And it is also the nodal agency for implementation of Dinudayal Upadyai Gram Jyothi Yojana. And the aim is to provide 24 by 7 sustainable and affordable powers to all the households in the country. It is also the coordinating agency for the rolling out of Uday scheme or Ujjal Discom Assurance Yojana. And when we talk about Uday scheme, it seeks to operationally reform and financially turn around the power distribution companies in the country. So in this discussion, we talked about CEA or Central Electricity Authority, then Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and also Rural Electrification Corporation Limited. The practice question related to this topic will be discussed in the end of our news analysis. With this we will move on to the next news. Now we have this news article which is related to protected areas. So we will see about national parks, wildlife centuries and conservation and community reserves. The syllabus relevant for this analysis is highlighted here for your reference. Please go through it. So talking about the news, it mentions about the death of a tiger and a tigeress in the Annamalai Tiger Reserve of Tamil Nadu. Presumably the big cats died after eating the remains of a wild boar. And when toxicological analysis were done on the carcasses of the dead animals and also on the dead flies that were on the wild boar, it was found that the same poison was present in all of them. Here just know that toxicology is a branch of science which is concerned with poisons, detection, nature and its effects. So from exam perspective, know that Annamalai Tiger Reserve is one of the four Tiger reserves in Tamil Nadu. It covers Tamil Nadu districts of Coimbatore and Tirupur and it forms the part of the southern western guards and lies south of the Palakkad Gap. It is contagious with the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve and Chinnar Wildlife Century of Kerala. Hence it provides space for migration of large mammals. So in this context, let us discuss about protected areas. See protected areas are those in which human occupation is limited or at least exploitation of resources are limited. There are several kinds of protected areas which vary by levels of protections depending on the enabling law of each country or the revelations of the international organizations involved. Here remember that the term protected area also include marine protected areas. Now with respect to India, know that Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 defines protected areas and according to it protected area means a national part, a sanctuary, a conservation reserve or a community reserve notified under the section 1835, 36A and 36C of the act. Now we will discuss about these things in detail. See section 18 deals with the declaration of sanctuary. The state government by notification can declare any area as a sanctuary for the purpose of protecting the area, propagating or developing wildlife or its environment. And it is done if the state government considers that such areas of educate ecological, fauna, floral, geomorphological, natural or zoological significance. And here know that under this section generally an area comprised within any reserve forest or territorial waters cannot be declared or constituted as a sanctuary. But if the state government considers that these areas are having the above mentioned characteristics, then it can declare it as a sanctuary under the section 26A close 1B. And according to the National Wildlife Database that is NWB, there are 553 existing wildlife centuries in India covering 3.64% of the geographical area of the country. Next we have section 35 of Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and it deals with the declaration of national parks. An area whether within a sanctuary or not can be notified by the state government to be constituted as a national park. And it can be due to its ecological, fauna, floral, geomorphological or zoological association or importance. And know that no human activity is permitted inside the national park except for the ones permitted by the chief wildlife warden of the state. And it should be under the conditions given in chapter 4 of Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Further, section 26A also applies to national parks with respect to territorial waters. So, an area comprised within the territorial waters can be declared as a national park. And according to National Wildlife Board, there are 101 existing national parks in India covering 1.23% of the geographical area of our country. Next under section 36A, state government may declare any area as a conservation reserve after having consultation with the local communities. Particularly, the areas adjacent to national parks or sanctuaries and those areas which link one protected area with another are declared as a conservation reserve. And it is for protecting the landscapes, seascapes, flora and fauna and their habitats in these areas. And know that there are 86 existing conservation areas in India. Then under section 36C, the state government declares and manages community reserves. When a community or an individual has volunteered to conserve wildlife and its habitat, then any private or community land can be declared as a community reserve. And it should be for protecting fauna, flora and traditional or cultural conservation values and practices. And such a land is declared which is not comprised within a national park, sanctuary or a conservation reserve. And there are 163 existing community reserves in India. And know that the conservation and community reserves typically act as a buffer zone to establish national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved or protected forests in India. Or they act as connectors or migration corridors between them. And these protected area categories were introduced by the Wildlife Protection Amendment Act of 2002 which amended Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. And these categories were added because of reduced protection in and around the existing or proposed protected areas due to private ownership of land and land use. So in this discussion, we talked about different types of protected areas. And these include national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation and community reserves. So the practice question which is related to this topic will be discussed in the end of our section. With this we'll move on to the next news. Now this news article is with reference to the subject matter of contempt of court. In this context, we would like to inform you that on 27th July 2020, we have discussed the definition of contempt of court, its relevance and the opinion of the law commission on the definition of the contempt of court. Watching that analysis will be helpful for you to better understand today's discussion. So today we will discuss the areas that were not discussed on that day. The syllabus relevant for this particular topic is given here for your reference. Please go through it. See, as we know, the definitions of contempt in the Indian context is provided under the section 2 of the Contempt of Courts Act of 1971. So in this context, know that contempt of courts act of 1971 just outlines the procedures related to investigation and punishment of contempt. And the power of the Supreme Court and the High Courts to punish for contempt is a constitutional power under articles 129 and 215 of the Indian constitution respectively. Now let us see the history behind contempt of court. That is how the concept of contempt of court came into being. See in England several centuries ago, the judicial power was vested with the king. That is, the king served as the judge. And at that time, there was no separation of powers. And this concept of contempt of court came as a common law principle to protect the judicial power of the king. Later, the judicial authority was vested in a panel of judges who acted in the name of the king. And violation of orders of the judges was considered as an outrageous act against the king himself. And this concept was adopted by the judiciary when it became an independent institution. And over a period of time, disobedience to judges or obstruction of the implementation of the directives became punishable for the contempt of court. And this also included comments and actions that showed disrespect towards the courts as well. Now let us see some of the safeguards that are available in the contempt of courts act of 1971. Here, as per section 3, innocent publication and distribution of matter is not a contempt. That is, a person shall not be guilty for anything published in connection with any pending civil or criminal proceedings if at that time of publication, he had no reasonable grounds for believing that the proceedings was pending. Then under section 7, publication of information relating to proceedings in chambers or in camera is not contempt. But here there are some exceptions. First know that in camera or in chambers refers to a scenario where order is made in a private place or in a judge's chamber where presence of media and public is not allowed. So it is just an opposite to the open court. See in normal scenario, a person shall not be guilty of publishing the text of an order or for publishing a fair and accurate summary of the court order which is made in chambers or in camera. However, if the court has prohibited the publication on specific grounds and even then if the person publishes, then the person can be held guilty. And we have the grounds here. The grounds include public policy, reasons connected with the public order or the security of state or on the ground that the order contains information relating to a secret process, secret discovery or invention. So these are the grounds where a person can be punished under the contempt of court. And then as per section 4 subject to section 7 of the act, fair and accurate report of judicial proceedings is not a contempt. That is a person shall not be guilty of contempt of court for publishing a fair and accurate report of a judicial proceeding. And most importantly under section 5, fair criticism of judicial act is not a contempt. That is a person shall not be guilty of contempt of court for publishing any fair comment on the merits of any case which has been heard and finally decided by the court. And in 2006, an amendment was made to this act in section 13. It stated that in any proceeding for contempt of court, justification by truth will be a valid defence if the court is satisfied in public interest and if the request for invoking the defence is bonafide or genuine. And in addition to it, section 13 also states that no court shall impose a sentence unless it is satisfied that the contempt substantially interferes with the due course of justice. And there are also some safeguards guaranteed under the 1971 act. And in this regard, we will have to carefully observe how Mr. Prashant Bhushan will defend in the contempt of court proceedings initiated against him by the Supreme Court. Mr. Prashant has made many criticisms against the office of Chief Justice by telling that many Chief Justice of India were corrupt. And he also made statements on Twitter about access to justice during lockdown. And there are also many judges in the higher judiciary who consider that present law should be modified. And one of the news article states that senior journalists have moved the Supreme Court against the present definition of contempt of court. So in this discussion, we discussed in detail about contempt of court. So with this, we'll come to an end of this discussion. Now we'll move on to the next news article. Now have a look at this question. It is based on this news article which talks about an India-Israel collaboration to study COVID-19 pandemic. It says that the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India is collaborating with Israel's Direct Rate of Defence Research and Development, that is DRDD, to conduct trials on Indian COVID-19 patients. The Health Ministry's screening committee, that is HSMC, has given approval for these trials. So as a part of this, DRDO has proposed to transfer 5,000 saliva samples to the Israeli Defence Team. So in this context, let us discuss in detail about Health Ministry's screening committee or HSMC. See, HSMC is a high-level committee constituted under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in early 1980s. So it has been formed to screen and to approve the international collaborative proposals in the field of biomedical health research. Know that the applications for research projects involving foreign assistance or collaborations in biomedical or health research are to be submitted by the Indian investigators to Indian Council of Medical Research or ICMR for the approval of HMSE. And prior to the submission of HMSE, the research proposals are evaluated on the basis of scientific significance and justification for foreign collaboration, and it is also supposed to be evaluated on the basis of national health priorities and national security or safety angle. And know that HMSE has representatives from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Department of Biotechnology, Department of Science and Technology, and also from Directorate General of Armed Forces Medical Services, which is under Ministry of Defence. And HMSE is chaired by the Secretary, Department of Health and Research, which is under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. And know that ICMR acts as the technical arm of HMSE and it is responsible for the technical review of the collaborative proposals. And the International Health Division, that is IHD of ICMR, is the Secretary for HMSE. Now let us see the terms of reference of HMSE. So it has to carry out screening of all the proposals involving foreign collaboration on a bilateral basis. And it has to periodically monitor the progress of bilateral agreements between India and other countries and should make suitable recommendations regarding their implementation. Next, it should consider all the proposals in which extension of ongoing research projects is sought with or without external financial support. And finally, it has to give final approval for the transfer of biological materials. And we know that ICMR is the apex body for biomedical research and foreign aid research in our country. And this article says that the current trials are controlled by the DRDO. See DRDO is the Research and Development Wing of Ministry of Defence. And it has a vision to empower India with cutting edge defence technologies and also a mission to achieve self reliance in critical defence technologies and systems. And today DRDO is a network of more than 50 laboratories which are deeply engaged in developing defence technologies. And this covers various disciplines which include aeronautics, armaments, combat vehicles, missiles, advanced computing and simulation, life sciences, agriculture, etc. Now have a look at this question. Consider the following statements regarding Health Ministry's screening committee. We have two statements given here. It is a high level committee constituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to screen and approve applications for research projects involving foreign assistance or collaboration in biomedical or health research. Yes, this statement is correct. And we have statement two that is HMSC has representatives from Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Defence. Yes, this statement is also correct because it have representatives from Department of Biotechnology and Department of Science and Technology which are under Ministry of Science and Technology. And also Directorate General of Armed Force Medical Services which comes under the Ministry of Defence. So this statement is correct and we have to identify the correct statements among these given statements. So here both the statements are correct. So the correct answer is option C that is both one and two. So with this we will move on to the next news article. Now have a look at this second question which is based on this news article. The news article discusses about Rafale jets. We know that the Indian Air Force has recently detected five Rafale fighter jets. And this fighter jet is referred to as a game changer. Let us see why. See when we talk about Rafale jets, Rafale is a twin jet fighter aircraft able to operate from both an aircraft carrier and a shore base. And know that a fully versatile Rafale is able to carry out all combat aviation missions such as air superiority and air defense, close air support, in-depth strikes, reconnaissance, anti-ship strikes and also nuclear deterrence. And that is why Rafale is an omniroll fighter jet that is it has the ability to conduct several different missions in the course of same sortie or assault. Here we should know that it has advanced active electronically scanned array radar that is AESA radar and also electronic warfare suit and network centric capabilities in addition to its armaments. So here active electronically scanned array radar that is AESA provides a wide range of functions. Firstly, it provides tracking of multiple air targets for close combat and long range interception in all weather environments and also in severe jamming environments. And secondly, it provides real time generation of three dimensional maps for terrain following above uncharted terrain in blind conditions. The Rafale is the sole new generation combat aircraft to currently propose such a function. And thirdly, it provides real time generation of high resolution 2D ground maps for navigation updates and detection, identification and designation of ground targets. And know that it also provides for detection and tracking of multiple naval targets. And Rafale is also armed with the mature beyond visual range that is DVR, air to air missile. And mature is guided by an advanced active radar secret. Hence it provides for all weather capability to engage in a wide variety of targets such as from agile fast jets to small unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles. And it also provides largest no escape zone of any air to air missile. So we should know that in this regard, there is no equivalent or competitor to it currently. Then Rafale has 14 hard points for weapons. See here, hard points is a weapon station which is a part of an airframe designed to carry an external load such as a missile. And Rafale can carry a total external load of over nine tons. And in addition to mature, it is also armed with SCALP long range standoff attack air to ground missiles and MICA multi-mission air to air missiles. And because of this, Rafale is now the most advanced fighter in the Indian Air Force Arsenal. And Rafale is also the first imported fighter to join the service in over two decades. And know that it is manufactured by Dassault Aviation which is a French aerospace company. And it is manufactured and delivered to India under the Intergovernmental Agreement which was signed in September 2016 between India and France for 36 Rafale jets in fly away condition. And because of its capabilities, Rafale will give a qualitative edge to the Indian Air Force in the region. Now have a look at this question. Consider the following statements with reference to Rafale fighter jets. We have two statements here. It is a twin jet fighter aircraft able to operate from both an aircraft carrier and a shore base. And the second statement is, it is developed indigenously by defense research and development organization. Here the first statement is correct and the second statement is incorrect. It is actually manufactured by French company, Dassault Aviation. So in this question, we have to identify the incorrect statement or statements from the given statements. So here we know that the statement one is correct and statement two is incorrect. So the correct answer is option B. With this we have come to an end of discussion of the news articles. Now we will discuss the practice questions with reference to today's news analysis. So now we have this question which is with reference to Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. Consider the following statements regarding Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. We have three statements given here. Its function is to regulate the tariff of generating companies owned by the center if they have a composite scheme for generation and sale of electricity in more than one state. Yes, this statement is correct and another function is to regulate the interstate transmission of electricity and it also determines the tariff for interstate transmission of electricity. Now we have the second statement. It is a statutory body formed under the Electricity Act of 2003. Yes, this statement is also correct. CERC was initially constituted under the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act of 1998. And now it is a statutory body functioning under the section 76 of Electricity Act of 2003. Now the third statement goes CERC is the nodal agency for implementation of the Deena Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana. This statement is incorrect. It is the REC Limited or Rural Electrification Corporation Limited which is the nodal agency for implementation of Saubhagya scheme as well as Deena Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana. And it is also the coordinating agency for rolling out Uday scheme or Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana. So we have to identify the correct statements among these statements. So here statement 192 are correct and statement 3 is incorrect. So the correct answer is option D. Now we have the second question which is with reference to protected areas which among the following are protected area according to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. We have five options given here. National parks, sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, community reserves and conservation reserves. So here the correct answer is option C that is 1, 2, 4 and 5. And it is according to the definition of protected areas in the act. And when we talk about biosphere reserves they are representative parts of natural and cultural landscapes extending over a large area of terrestrial and coastal marine ecosystems. Or it also can be a combination thereof and representative examples of biogeographic zones or provinces. See the National Biosphere Reserve program of India was initiated in 1986. And also before that UNESCO introduced the designation Biosphere Reserve for natural areas to minimize conflict between development and conservation. And biosphere reserves are nominated by the national government which meets a minimum set of criteria and other two minimum set of conditions for inclusion in the world network of biosphere reserves under the Man and Biosphere Reserve program of UNESCO. And the program of biosphere reserve was initiated by UNESCO in 1973-74 itself. And the purpose for the formation of biosphere reserve is to conserve inside to all forms of life along with its support system in its totality so that it could serve as a referral system for the monitoring and evaluating changes in our natural ecosystems. So with reference to this question the correct answer is option C1245 that is national parks, sanctuaries, community reserves and conservation reserves. Now we will move on to the next question. Now this question is related to our discussion on contempt of court. Under article 19 of the Constitution of India the exercise of right to freedom of speech and expression can be reasonably restricted in the interest of or in relation to sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, friendly relation with the foreign states, public order, decency, contempt of court. We have six options given here. So we know that the right to freedom of speech and expression can be reasonably restricted with respect to contempt of court. So here we have contempt of court as an option so that we can easily arrive at the correct answer. Here the correct answer is option D that is 123456. With this we will come to an end of analysis of all the news articles taken up for today's discussion and also the discussion of practice questions. If you like this video press the like button, comment and share and do subscribe to Shankarayesh Academy YouTube channel for latest videos and updates. Thank you.