 Good evening ASPENS, this is an announcement regarding second all India level prelims open mock test. The second open mock test is scheduled to be held on 27th September 2020. Those students who have not registered it can register as early as possible with the help of registration link given in the description box and also in the comment section. Also notice that the PDF link of the first open mock test results with all India ranking is also available. With this announcement, let's begin the Hindu news analysis for the date 23rd September 2020. The list of the topics from the different editions of the Hindu are displayed here for your reference. The PDF link and the time stamping of the news articles is given in the description box and also in the comment section. Let's start with the analysis of the first news article. This news article says that the central government has empowered the National Investigation Agency to investigate offenses under the NDPS Act that is Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985. So this will help National Investigation Agency to solve the various drug trade ties that emerge during counter-terrorism operations. So in this context, let's discuss in detail about the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985. The syllabus relevant to the analysis of this news article is highlighted here for your reference. You know that this is an important act to consolidate and amend the law relating to narcotic drugs and to make stringent provisions for the control and regulation of operations relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The act also aims at the four features of property that is derived from illicit traffic and narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and also implements the provisions of the international conventions on NDPS. Now if you look at the pros and cons of this act, the act imposes the central government to take all necessary measures to prevent the abuse of NDPS and its illicit traffic. So the central government may appoint a narcotics commissioner who shall exercise all powers and perform all functions relating to the supernince of the cultivation of the opium poppy and the production of opium that can be used for illicit trade. So under the act the central government may constitute the narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances consultative committee and this committee shall consist of a chairman and not more than 20 members. The purpose of this committee is to advise the central government on important matters relating to the administration of this act. The act also imposes the state government to appoint its own offices under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985. And another important provision is the establishment of a national fund for control of drug abuse. Know that this fund will include amount appropriated by a parliamentary law, then sale proceeds of any property confiscated under the pros and cons of NDPS act. Then individual grants can also be deposited in this national fund. The fund will be used for combating illicit traffic in NDPS. Then also identifying, treating then rehabilitating drug addicts. Then expenses for preventing drug abuse can also be sponsored from this national fund for control of drug abuse. Now when it comes to certain operations which are prohibited under the act, the act says that no person shall cultivate any coca plant or opium poppy or any cannabis plant. Then the act also mentions that no one shall produce, possess, sell or purchase or transport or consume any NDPS except for medical or scientific purposes. The act also prohibits certain activities relating to property derived from offenses. For example, no person shall transfer any property knowing that such property is derived from an offense committed under this act. The important section of this act is that it mentions stringent penalties for the violations of the provisions of this act. But this varies with respect to the type of NDPS and its quantity. Then it is very important to note that even death penalty can be imposed for certain offenses after previous conviction. Then the act clearly states that notwithstanding anything contained in the code of criminal procedure or any other law in force, no sentence awarded under this act shall be suspended or remitted or commuted. Then the act also provides for establishment of special codes for speedy trial of the offenses. So it shall consist of a single judge who shall be appointed by the government with the concurrence of the chief justice of the High Court. Also know that every offense punishable under this act shall be cognizable and in most cases the offenses are non-ailable offenses. So with this information, now let us discuss about the Narcotics Control Bureau. So to know about Narcotics Control Bureau, the NDPS act provides for constituting a central authority for the purpose of exercising the powers and functions of the central government. So based on this provision, this NCB was constituted in the year 1986 and at present, NCB is the Apex Drug Law Enforcement Agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs. And know that NCB has several zones and sub-jones which collect and analyze data related to seizure of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substance. And it also analyze and study trends and modus operandi to break the chain of illicit drug trade. So to implement effectively the provisions of NDPS, NCB works in close cooperation with the customs department, state police departments and other relevant law enforcement agencies. So this is all about the provisions of NDPS act. Now let us proceed to the analysis of next news article. Now let us take up this editorial which talks about the important reforms that are needed in the United Nations in today's scenario. In our yesterday's news analysis, we talked about the EN 75 or 75th commemoration of United Nations. Know that the theme for 75th commemoration is the feature we want, the EN we need, reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism. Remember that we also discussed about the important report published by United Nations in this regard. So in today's news analysis, we are going to discuss about our Prime Minister's speech where he stressed about the major reforms needed in the United Nations. The syllabus relevant to the analysis of this editorial is highlighted here for your reference. Now if you analyze the speech of Indian Prime Minister, he told that the United Nations will face a crisis of confidence if major reforms are not initiated soon. So we can say that he primarily referred to the reform of the outdated structure of the United Nations and its important organizations. Here one such important organization is United Nations Security Council and we know that the UNSC has been in existence for more than 75 years, but it does not represent the present geopolitical and economic realities of the 21st century. Because bearing two reasons that is North America and Europe, other regions are either underrepresented or not represented at all in the permanent council. Here we can say that underrepresented regions include Asia, whereas underrepresented regions include Africa, then Latin America and small island developing states. And we know that it also not represented by any other pillars of the multilateral order such as group of four, which includes Brazil, India, Germany and Japan. So to be specific, UN Security Council has 15 members in that there are five permanent members such as United States, United Kingdom, France, then Russia and China. And they enjoy all the powers in the Security Council and above all the P5 nations were granted a special status in the Security Council, which is known as veto power. It means that if any one of the P5 members cast a negative vote in the 15 member council, then the resolution or decision would not be approved. So because of this special status given to the P5 members, we can see that these P5 members are misusing their veto power to serve the strategic interests of themselves and their associates. And it is highly detrimental to the prosperity of their world because of the undue representation or undue importance given to the P5 members. So the author of this editorial says that there is a deep polarization within the UN's membership and due to this important decisions are not able to be taken. And one such example is a failure of United Nations in helping the nations to deal with the coronavirus spread. Now when it comes to India, remember that India was recently elected as a non-permanent member of Security Council for the eighth time and the term is going to start from 2021. And remember that the term will be of two years that is from 2021 to 2022. And we know that for a long time India has always asked for the expansion of the membership of the Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories. And India has been demanding the permanent status in the Security Council mainly based on India's historic association with the UN system. And we know that India is the founding member of the United Nations. And the second reason is India's high value on place in contemporary international politics. And India has been an active participant in all initiatives undertaken by the United Nations like Millenium Development Goals, Sustainable Development Goals, then other important measures to tackle the evolving challenges like terrorism, climate change and so forth and so on. And India is also the leader for developing countries in the world. Then the author is stating that our nation is one of the world's largest economies and the most populous countries. And we also have a big track record in promoting a rule-based international order and greatly contributing to UN peacekeeping missions. So with this information now we will discuss what is the stand of India at United Nations and its multilateral forums. Know that India is working with reform-oriented countries including through groupings like G4. And since September 2016, India has been participating in the meetings of the group of friends on Security Council reform. See, this group supports urgent reform of the UN Security Council including an expansion in both permanent and non-permanent categories of the Security Council. Furthermore, India is also actively engaged in the ongoing international negotiations on UN Security Council reform. And these negotiations are looking at five major issues such as enlarging the Security Council, then categories of membership, then the question of the veto power, then regional representation and then redistributing the UNSC and UN General Assembly power balance. But the reality is that the international negotiations on UNSC reform that is IGN has not made progress over decades despite being committed to reform the UN Security Council. And UN has chosen to ignore the discussions of the intergovernmental negotiations. As a conclusionary statement that is based on author's opinion, the Security Council permanent members should recognize the deep problems existing in the United Nations. And the permanent members should support the reform process by looking beyond their own interest. So, in the context of this editorial, we have discussed about important reforms that need to be addressed in the United Nations and its important organs. Let's proceed to the analysis of the next news article. Now, this news article talks about 6th schedule status for the Union Territory of Ladakh. We all know that Ladakh was bifurcated from Jamun Kashmir and was made an Union Territory in the year 2019. So, when Ladakh was part of JNK, the prozins of S-12 Jamun Kashmir which restrict outsiders from buying land in JNK state were even applicable to the Ladakh region. But now after Ladakh was made Union Territory, there were fears that outsiders from the rest of India may settle in the Union Territory of Ladakh. So, the people of Ladakh are asking for 6th schedule status so that they can preserve their unique tribal identity and their pristine ecosystem. So, in this regard, the people's movement which is a platform representing various politicians, religious and social organizations are campaigning for the 6th schedule status for the Union Territory of Ladakh. So, they announced a by-court of the upcoming elections to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council of Leh District. So, in this context, I know that when Ladakh was designated as a Union Territory, it was created without a state legislature but instead two autonomous councils that is Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council of Leh and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council of Kargil were established to govern important minor issues. And now the elections for these councils are due in next month and for these elections only, the people's movement announced by cutting the Hill Development Council elections. So, in this context, we are going to discuss the important provisions ensigned in the 5th schedule, then 6th schedule and also article 244. Know that article 244 in the part 10 of the Union Constitution provides a special system of administration for certain areas which are designated as scheduled areas and tribal areas. Also know that the 5th schedule of Union Constitution deals with the administration of schedule areas and schedule tribes in any state except the 4 states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mishoram. So, for the administration of tribal areas in these 4 states that is the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mishoram, Indian Constitution provides an exclusive schedule that is 6th schedule to deal with the administration of tribal areas in these 4 states. So, in simple terms under 6th schedule of Indian Constitution, a special form of administration is envisaged for tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mishoram because the tribes in these states have not assimilated much the life and ways of other people. So, because of this reason, their way of life is much different from the rest of the country. Therefore, to protect their culture, their traditions, Indian Constitution provided all necessary provisions in the form of 6th schedule. So, what are the special features of administration provided under this schedule? Know that the tribal areas in these 4 states have been constituted as autonomous statistics but note that they do not fall outside the executive authority of the respective states and the governor of the state is empowered to organize and reorganize these autonomous districts. So, if there are different tribes in an autonomous district, the governor can divide the district into several autonomous reasons. So, each autonomous district has a district council consisting of 30 members of whom 4 are nominated by the governor and the remaining 26 are elected on the basis of universal adult franchise. The elected members hold office for a term of 5 years and nominated members hold office during the pleasure of governor. Know that each autonomous region also has a separate regional council and the district and regional councils administer the areas under the jurisdiction. They can also make laws on certain specified matters like land, forest, canal water, shifting cultivation, even on village administration, inheritance of property, then cultural issues like social customs, marriage and divorce which are considered to be important for the safeguarding their unique culture and traditions but note that all such laws require the assent of the respective governors. Furthermore, the district and regional councils can also constitute village councils or village courts for trial of suits and cases between the tribes. Therefore, based on these provisions, we can say that all these provisions provide for a local self-government but with more autonomy and importantly, they enjoy legislative, executive and even judicial powers to safeguard their unique traditions and customs. As I said before, the people of Ladakh are also asking for a sixth schedule status to preserve their unique tribal identity to safeguard their habitats and ecosystem. So, with this information, let's proceed to the analysis of next news article. Now, let's take up this news article which mentions about EPCA that is environment pollution prevention and control authority. Know that this authority was constituted by the central government in the year 1998 as per the provisions of Environment Protection Act of 1986. So, in the context of this news article, we are going to discuss in detail about EPCA. Before that, today's news article mentions that the EPCA has written to the chief secretaries of the two states to address the stubble burning issue immediately. So, it is to be noted that according to the official estimates, about 9.8 million tons of the total estimated crop residue of 20 million tons were burnt in the state of Punjab last year. Similarly, in the state of Haryana, of the total 7 million tons, about 1.24 million tons of stubble were burnt. So, to deal with the various consequences of stubble burning, Environment Pollution Authority has written to the respective chief secretaries to deal with the issue immediately. Remember that stubble burning is nothing but burning of the agriculture crop residues or burning of biomass. And burning of stubble releases various gases such as release of sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, oxides of carbon, then release of black carbon, organic carbon, then it also releases gases like methane, volatile organic compounds, non-methane hydrocarbons, ozone and also aerosols. Stubble burning is also responsible for the formation of smog and haze in the northern India, particularly in the national capital territory of Delhi. Also know that stubble burning elevates soil temperature and it damages microorganisms present in the upper layer of the soil. Now with this information, let's come back to the Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority, which was constituted as per the Provence of Environment Protection Act. This authority was constituted for protecting and improving the quality of environment and also preventing and controlling environmental pollution in the national capital region of Delhi. It also assists the Supreme Court in various environmental related matters in the national capital region. And the tenure of EPCA was extended from time to time by the central government, and this authority has about 20 members including the chairperson appointed by the central government. Now when it comes to powers and functions of EPCA, know that it is not an advisory committee, but it has powers similar to the powers of central government. The authority has powers to take up matters sumoto that is by its own. It can also take up matters on the basis of complaints made by any individual, made by representative body, or organization functioning in the field of environment. And such complaints may be against any individual or against any association or company, or even it can be against public undertaking or local body carrying on any industry or any operation or any process. So, in this regard it can take action against such individual or such entities if it is proved that they had violated the provisions of environmental rules and regulations. So, one of the important powers of EPCA is the redressal of grievances through the complaints. So, to resolve these grievances, it has power of entry or power of inspection or seizure of any equipment or any industrial plant or required registers or documents or other material objects if proved for the violating the established rules and regulations. And know that it can issue directions to ensure maintenance of prescribed ambient noise standards. So, in this regard it can ban or restrict any industry or any process or any operation emitting noise pollution. It also has powers to take all necessary steps to control vehicular pollution, ensuring complaints of field quality standards, then monitoring and coordinating action for traffic planning and management and so forth and so on. Then the next important functions of EPCA includes dealing with environmental issues pertaining to the national capital region, which may be referred to it by the central government. And in this regard it also mandated to enforce a graded response action plan that is GRAP in the national capital region as per the pollution standards. Know that a graded response action plan is a set of stratified actions that are taken once the pollution level reaches a certain specified limit. So, this is all about environment pollution prevention and control authority in the context of this news article. Let's proceed to the next news article analysis. Now, this news article is about the concept of net neutrality. The article mentions that telecom regulatory authority of India, that is TRY, has decided to set up a multi-stakeholder body to ensure that internet access providers shall adhere to the provisions of net neutrality. Notice that this body is a multi-stakeholder body, will have representation from telecom service providers, internet service providers, then also from content developers, then it also has representation from civil society organizations and also representation from the government. This multi-stakeholder body required to investigate various complaints regarding the violation of principles of net neutrality. So, what is net neutrality in this context? We know that internet is a public resource that has no ownership but it is available to all those who are digitally connected. So, increasing importance for society has led to an intense debate about how to preserve and enhance this shared resource as an open platform for all communications. So, there is an ongoing debate on net neutrality principles and this debate is based on the desire to preserve and protect the open nature of the public internet resource. See the principles of net neutrality state that internet users should have access to all content on the internet without being discriminated by the internet service providers. So, this means three things. First and foremost is that all websites or applications should be treated equally by the internet service providers, then all applications should be allowed to be accessed at the same internet speed. Then the third important principle is that all applications should have accessible for the same cost without any differential price mechanism. So, based on these principles, network neutrality requires all internet service providers to provide the same level of data access and the speed to all traffic and then traffic to one service or website cannot be blocked or degraded. So, with this information in your mind, remember that in the year 2015, the Department of Telecommunications constituted an expert committee on net neutrality and this committee recommended that the core principles of net neutrality must be respected and shall be followed. The committee also said that India's public policy should be directed towards achievement of developmental aims of the country by facilitating affordable broadband, then quality broadband and then universal broadband for its citizens. Furthermore, in the year 2016, TRY has released prohibition of discriminatory tariffs for data services regulations. Know that these regulations prohibited discriminatory tariffs for data services. It means that internet service providers cannot charge different tariffs from consumers for accessing different services online. Furthermore, these regulations mentions that no service provider is allowed to enter into any agreement or contract that would result in discriminatory tariffs, but such tariffs are permitted in the closed electronic communications networks. These regulations also mention that a service provider may reduce tariffs for accessing or providing emergency services or at times of grave public emergency. So, in order to enforce these regulations, TRY can impose a penalty of 50,000 rupees per day, but subject it to the maximum level of rupees 50 lakhs. So, these are certain details in the context of this news article. Let's proceed to the analysis of next news article. Now, let's take up this opiate column which talks about booker price and why we should not give much attention to the booker price. Note that the booker price is the leading literary award in the English speaking world and it has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for about five decades. Each year the price is awarded to the best novel of the year written in English, but published in the United Kingdom or in the Ireland. Also, notice that there is one more price called the international booker price, which is awarded annually for a single book which is translated into English, but published in the United Kingdom or in the Ireland. So, to put in simple terms, the booker price recognizes the efforts of the authors in fiction category, whereas the international booker price is for books which are translated into English from other languages. The awards are presented annually by the Booker Price Foundation and like every year, the booker price shortlist has gained a lot of attention in our country and as per the author's view, the Booker Price winning book is then translated into multiple Indian languages which is a pure economic decision rather than an autistic choice. The author further states that the obsession with the booker price is in line with our interest for foreign awards and nominations and it is a kind of neo-colonialism or an imperialism of the mind which is established when books and authors are considered important. Furthermore, these are mentioned in the foreign press as prestigious foreign awards. So, the author is very critical of our obsession for foreign recognitions and comparing it to neo-colonialism. There are many awards in India which recognize the literary works like Sahitya Academy Awards, Basha Saman Awards and also a state-level literary recognition awards. But these awards rarely find a mention in the mainstream media. So, the author is advocating for vocal for local to promote and recognize the native literary talent. So, these are certain details with reference to Booker Price. Now, let's start our practice question session. The terms Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle often seen in news is related to largest areas of illicit poppy cultivation in Asia, world's largest gold mines in South Africa, two newly discovered chemical compositions with properties similar to gold, two small asteroids with huge rare metal deposits. So, to answer this question we should know about Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle known for opium cultivation and illicit drug trafficking. Golden Crescent comprises opium producing areas of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan whereas Golden Triangle is known for one of the world's busiest drug trafficking regions. So, the correct answer for this question is option A, largest areas of illicit poppy cultivation in Asia. Now, let's take up this question which was asked in 2015 U.P.C. Pulleim's exam. The pros and cons in fifth schedule and sixth schedule in the Indian Constitution are made in order two. They have given options like to protect the interest of schedule tribes, to determine the boundaries between the states, to determine the powers, authority and responsibility of Panchayats, to protect the interest of all the border states. So, in the context of this question try to remember the fifth schedule of Indian Constitution deals with the administration of scheduled areas and schedule tribes in any state except the four states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mishoram. Then the sixth schedule of Indian Constitution deals with the administration of the tribal areas in the four northeastern states such as Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mishoram. So, the correct answer for this question is option A, to protect the interest of scheduled tribes. Now, let's take up this question. Cancel the following statements with reference to environment pollution prevention and control authority. It is a statutory body constituted as by the presence of Environment Protection Act of 1986. It was constituted for protecting and improving the quality of environment and preventing and controlling environmental pollution. It is mandated to enforce a graded response action plan that is a GRAP plan in the national capital region of Delhi as per the pollution standards. So, for this question you need to choose correct statement or statements. Here all the given statements are correct with reference to environment pollution prevention and control authority which was constituted by the central government as per the provisions of Environment Protection Act of 1986. Know that it was constituted for protecting and improving the quality of environment then it was also constituted for preventing and controlling environmental pollution and it also assists the Supreme Court in various environmental related matters and has powers to take up the matters by its own that is sumo to power. It can also take up matters on the basis of complaints made by any individual or by any representative body or by any organization functioning in the field of environment. Know that it is not an advisory committee but it has powers similar to the powers of central government and it is also statutory body because it was constituted as by the presence of Environment Protection Act of 1986. Furthermore, EPCA is also mandated to enforce graded response action plan in the national capital region of Delhi as per the pollution standards. Know that graded response action plan that is GRAB is a set of stratified actions that are taken once the pollution level reaches a certain specified limit. All the given statements are correct. The correct answer for this question is option D 1 2 and 3. Consider the following statements. All websites should be treated equally by internet service providers. All applications should be allowed to be accessed at the same internet speed. All applications should be accessible for the same cost then discriminatory tariffs for data services. So for this question you need to choose correct features of net neutrality. So to understand net neutrality in simple terms the principles of net neutrality states that internet users should have free and fair access to data services without any discrimination by the internet service providers. So the broad principles of net neutrality include all websites or applications should be treated equally by the internet service providers. Then all applications should be allowed to be accessed at the same internet speed under the same cost. The fourth statement which says that discriminatory tariffs for data services is not the feature of net neutrality. So the correct answer for this question is option B 1 2 and 3 only. Let's take up this question. Consider the following statements with reference to Sahitya Akademi. Sahitya Akademi is a statutory body established by the act of parliament. Every year it presents awards to literary works in 22 scheduled languages and Rajasthani and English. For this question you need to choose correct statement or statements. The first statement is incorrect whereas the second statement is correct. Know that Sahitya Akademi is not a statutory body but it is a society registered under the Society's Registration Act of 1860. So the correct answer for this question is option B 2 only. Now let's take up one practice main question which is relevant for general studies paper two. The United Nations Security Council does not represent the geopolitical and economic realities of the 21st century. Comment. This is a 10 marks question and you have to write within 150 words and we request aspirants to post your written answers in the comment section. The suitable feedback will be given within the reasonable time frame. With this we have come to the end of today's news analysis. 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