 A very good evening aspirants, welcome to the Indian News Analysis brought to you by Shankarai's Academy for the date 2nd of November 2021. So these are the news articles that I have chosen today for discussion. Now in this first news article we are going to discuss about the commitments that India has given in the COP26. So we are going to discuss about the five important commitments agreed by India regarding climate change. Now in this next discussion we are going to discuss about the Gangetic River Dolphin, yesterday we discussed about the Indus River Dolphin and today we are going to discuss about Gangetic River Dolphin. And this editorial it talks about the water stress. So in this discussion we are going to discuss about the causative factors that leads to water stress and in this discussion we are going to discuss about Uttarakhand especially the destination of Kedarmat. And in this next discussion we are going to discuss about the issues that is ongoing between France and United Kingdom with respect to fishing rights. And I have three prelims questions for discussion today, along with that I also have one mains practice question. And as usual I do have one quiz question at the end of this discussion so pay attention to the discussion. With this introduction let us move on to first discussion for today. So first discussion is going to be based on the hot topic which is the ongoing COP26 summit. This news article reports that the Indian Prime Minister has agreed to certain climate related targets in the COP26 summit. So today let us understand what is COP and then we will see the targets agreed by India because in the coming days we are going to see many news articles based on this summit. So let us get to the discussion. Before that the syllabus relevant to this discussion is given here for your reference. Now first of all what is COP? See COP stands for Conference of the Parties. It is the supreme decision making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that is UNFCCC. So this is the supreme decision making body of this convention. And all the states that are parties to this convention are represented at the COP. So the COP is a formal meeting between the parties and at this meeting the parties review the implementation of the convention and they also take decisions that are necessary to promote the effective implementation of the convention. Particularly the Conference of Parties reviews the national communications and emission inventories that are submitted by the parties and based on this information the COP also assesses the effects of the measures taken by the parties and the progress made in achieving the ultimate objective of the convention. So basically COP is important to assess the measures taken by the various countries for achieving the climate related targets. So in this manner COP also accelerates the action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement. As you know Paris Agreement was signed in the year 2015. Its main aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change. So Paris Agreement has set targets for this. So what is the target? The target is to limit the raising global temperature by 2 degree Celsius as compared to pre-industrial levels by the end of this century that is by 2000 hundreds. In addition to this it also has a target to continue the efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degree Celsius by the end of this century. So limiting global temperature by 2 degree Celsius or 1.5 degree Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. This is the target set by Paris Agreement. And the COP accelerates the action that is needed to achieve this target. Now the COP meets every year in this regard. Just know that the first COP was held in Berlin in Germany. It was held in the year 1995. Now this year we have the 26th annual summit of COP. That is what is called as COP26. Now the host country for COP26 is United Kingdom. And therefore this COP is taking place in Glasgow. And yesterday we saw the targets and commitments agreed by the COP parties. But today we are only going to focus on the commitments agreed by India. Totally India has agreed to five commitments with targets. So let us see them one by one. Now the first target that India has agreed to is with respect to the net zero emissions. India has agreed to achieve net zero emissions by 2017. So this commitment of India is quite important and it is making noise because as you know India is the world's fourth biggest emitter of carbon dioxide if we take European Union into the account. The first two biggest emitters are China and USA. But even then India did not commit to a timeline to achieve net zero. But already all the remaining three entities that is China, USA and European Union they have announced plans for achieving net zero. For example China has announced plans for carbon neutrality by 2060. And USA and European Union has the aim to hit net zero by the year 2050. But now only India has committed to achieve net zero emissions by the year 2070. So US, U by the year 2050, China by the year 2060 and India by the year 2070. They have agreed to achieve net zero emissions by these years. And now what is this net zero? See it refers not adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This means all man-made greenhouse gas emissions must be removed from the atmosphere through reduction measures. So net zero is a state in which a country's emissions are compensated by absorption and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Now here absorption is done by creating more carbon sinks such as forests. And removal of greenhouse gases requires future technologies like carbon capture and carbon storage etc. Therefore for achieving net zero a sharp shift to clean energy sources is required and this will impose a steep cost on the country. And also note that if a country has net zero emissions that means it is becoming carbon neutral. So the first target was with respect to achieving net zero emissions. Now the second and the third target is regarding renewable energy. The second target says India will ensure 50% of its energy will be sourced from renewable sources by the year 2030. So 50% of India's energy needs will be met by renewable sources by the year 2030. Now the third target is regarding renewable energy installed capacity of India. Just for this target India would install systems to generate 500 gigawatt of renewable energy by 2030. See if you remember India already has committed to achieve 450 gigawatt of renewable energy installed capacity by the year 2030. And now in this new commitment a 50 gigawatt has been increased from the existing target. So this was the third target. Now the fourth target under this India will reduce its carbon emissions by a billion tons until 2030. And next the fifth target India will also reduce its emissions intensity per unit of GDP by less than 45%. See if you remember already India has committed to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35% by the year 2030. And this reduction will be from the 2005 level. So these are the five commitments that India has agreed to in the COP26. Now along with these commitments Indian side also stressed on two important things with respect to the policies regarding climate change. Firstly India stressed that the rich developed countries should provide at least 1 trillion dollars in climate finance. So that this amount will assist the developing countries and the most vulnerable regions. And this is to be done in the spirit of climate justice. So what is climate justice? See it is the fair treatment of all people and the freedom from discrimination in creation of policies and projects that address climate change. It also includes a fair treatment in the systems that create climate change and perpetuate discrimination. So why climate justice is important because we know that climate change affects all nations around the world but climate change is not felt equally among all. The effects of climate change differs according to geographic locations, socio-economic development and even governance. So that is why climate justice calls for a fair treatment of all people. In addition to this it also calls for solutions to the climate crisis that are specific to local contexts and that is inclusive of all communities. So this was the first matter stressed by India. Now the second matter was respecting the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. That is CBDRRC. See this CBDRRC is important with respect to their efforts regarding climate change because it is a principle within the UNF's CCC. This principle acknowledges the different capabilities and the differing responsibilities of individual countries in addressing climate change. So we know that all countries did not equally contribute to climate change. Some countries were more responsible for climate change and some countries do not even have the capability to address or to take efforts to address the climate change. So keeping these facts in mind the policies should be framed. So this is the principle of CBDRRC that is common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. So India has stressed on climate justice and CBDRRC. So that is all. In this discussion we saw about the five commitments that India has agreed in the COP26. The important one was regarding the net zero emissions. Then we saw the commitments regarding renewable energy and the reduction of carbon emissions. And then we saw about climate justice and CBDRRC. Both these principles should be kept in mind while framing policies and while agreeing to targets. Now let us move on to the next discussion. Our next discussion is based on this news article which talks about Gangetic River Dolphin. If you remember yesterday we discussed about the Indus River Dolphin. So you can compare both these dolphins. So this news article mentions about a rescue guide that has been launched for the Gangetic River Dolphin. Now this rescue guide will help in the safe rescue and relief of stranded Ganges River Dolphins because these dolphins often get stranded in the irrigation canals. Now note that this guide has been prepared by the Turtle Survival Alliance along with the Environment Department of the Uttar Pradesh government. Now this guide is also endorsed by the IUCN. According to the news article the rescue dolphins were released in the Gagra River in the past few years. So now the Gagra River has become a prime habitat for this species. So taking this opportunity let us see few facts about the species that is relevant for our examination. First note that the Gangetic Dolphin or the Gangetic River Dolphin it is also called as the Ganges River Dolphin and they are a freshwater river dolphins found in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. See here you should remember that there are only four freshwater dolphin species found in the world. So one is this Gangetic River Dolphin and the other freshwater dolphin species are found in Amazon River in South America, Yangtze River in China and in the industry. But here remember that the dolphin in the Yangtze River has been declared functionally extinct. So currently existing freshwater dolphins are Amazon River Dolphins, Indus River Dolphins and the Gangetic River Dolphin. Now regarding this Gangetic River Dolphin you should note that they are said to be present in the Ganges Brahmaputra Meghna River systems and also in the Karnapuli Sangu River systems. These river systems are spread across Nepal, India and Bangladesh. But however it is said that the species is extinct from a major part of its early distribution ranges. And now their total population is estimated at several thousand individuals only and according to the news article the global population of the species is estimated at 4,000 only as of now. And out of this 4,080% age is within the Indian territory and that is why this Gangetic River Dolphin is said to be endemic to Indian subcontinent and it has a fairly extensive distribution range in India. And because of its importance India 2009 this species was declared as India's national aquatic animal by the government of India. So let us see some of its characteristic features. See this Ganges River Dolphin can only live in freshwater and the species is essentially blind. So if it is blind then how it catches its prey? See it catches its prey in the same manner like the Indus Dolphin that we discussed yesterday. That is this dolphin also emits ultrasonic sound and this ultrasonic sound reaches the prey. Now the dolphin then registers this image in its mind and it subsequently catches hold of this prey. And it is also to be noted that this species is frequently found alone or in small groups and generally a mother and a calf travel together. So now what are the threats facing this species? See many dolphins die as a result of bycatch. So bycatch is one of the major threats. Apart from this, this river dolphin is also poached. That is it is hunted for meat and oil. Because both meat and oil are used medicinally, it is said that this oil is also used to attract catfish in net fishery. Apart from this other anthropogenic factors such as industrial development, agricultural and human pollution. All these are causing serious cause of habitat degradation to this species. And it is said that each year 9000 tons of pesticides and 6 million tons of fertilizers are used in the vicinity of the river. So high levels of pollution can directly kill prey species and even the dolphins itself. And they also destroy the habitat of this species. Apart from this, this species is an indicator species for the river system, that is it is an indicator of healthy aquatic system. And also it is at the apex of the food chain. That is this species is a top predator. This is also one of the reasons why there is presence of high levels of toxic chemicals in the bodies of this species. These toxins adversely affect and eventually they die. So these are some of the threats faced by this species. Because of this, many conservation efforts have been taken. And as part of this, this species has been accorded the highest protection in our country under Wildlife Protection Act 1972. It has been listed under Schedule 1 of Wildlife Protection Act. In addition to this, it is also listed as endangered in the ISN Red List. And it has also been listed in Appendix 1 of sites. That is convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora. So it is listed as endangered in ISN Red List, Schedule 1 in Wildlife Protection Act. And listed in Appendix 1 of sites. So these are few facts that you need to know from the exam perspective regarding Gangetic Dolphin or the Ganges River Dolphin. Now let us move on to the next discussion. Now let us take up this editorial article for discussion. This news article focuses on the new water policy. And in that manner, it discusses about the water stress. See, if you could remember, in November 2019, the Ministry of Jal Shakti set up a committee to draft the new national water policy. Already, we had water policies. They were drafted in the years 1987, 2002, and even in 2012. But all these policies were drafted entirely within the government system. But for the new water policy, the government had asked the committee to draft the policy. So since then, the committee has been receiving submissions from various sources. So you can assume that the national water policy, that is a new one, is yet to be released. And the author of this editorial has written this article in this backdrop. Because in this article, author discusses the kind of approach that should be adopted while framing this policy. Especially, author discusses the approach in the context of emerging or the ongoing water crisis in many parts of our country. In this manner, author has also emphasized the need to follow an integrated approach that would encourage both the conservation of water resources and also its efficient usage. So in this discussion, let us understand water stress and what is the water crisis that is going on in our country. And then we'll see the approach that is proposed by the author. And while discussing all these, we'll also see the factors that are responsible for this water crisis. So let us get to the discussion now. The syllabus relevant to this discussion is given here for your reference. Now, first of all, as we already said, India is currently under water stress. And it is facing one of its major and most serious water crisis. So what is water stress? Water stress is also known as water scarcity. It refers to a situation in which the demand for water exceeds the available amount of water. So in this scenario, let us quickly see the extent of water crisis in our country. So for this, let us take up the Composite Water Management Index of 2019. That is published by Neethi Ayog. See this Composite Water Management Index. It provides an annual snapshot of the water sector status. It provides the water management performance of the different states and urine territories in our country. Now, according to the 2019 index, 21 major cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, they were found to reach zero groundwater levels by 2020. So that means around 100 million people's access to groundwater has been affected. And as you can see in this representation, the overall demand is expected to exceed the supply and this will exceed twofold by the year 2030. And the report also cites a concern. That is, if this current situation continues, then the status of water availability will deteriorate completely. But on the other hand, India's water demand will exceed its supply. So this will pave way for severe water supply scarcity for millions of people. That by triggering severe water crisis. So according to the author of this article, this complex crisis could be solved only with adopting differential response to this crisis. So we know that the water crisis in India is not something which is uniform everywhere. So that is why there is a need for a differential response. But to arrive at this differential response, author asks us to first study India's water crisis. Now for studying this, author asks us to focus on two important factors. Now the first factor is regarding the locations. That is, the location should be classified into urban locations and rural locations. Now this will provide a better idea on the factors that cause the water crisis situation. This in turn will help us to have a stronger grip on the strategies that can be deployed to reverse the water crisis. That is based on the urban situation, we can give the solution. Then based on the rural situation, we can give a different solution. This was the first factor. Now the second factor is regarding the source of water. Author says that the sources from which our country draws water should be known. That is whether the citizens depend on groundwater sources for their needs or they depend on surface water resources. When we say surface water resources, it includes rivers, lakes, tanks and reservoirs. And we know that when we take rural areas, they depend on groundwater sources. For example, they depend on groundwater sources for 80 to 90% for their drinking water needs. And for around 75% they depend on groundwater sources for their agricultural needs. But on the other hand, in the urban areas, only 50 to 60% of the water supply is drawn from the groundwater sources and the remaining water needs are totally dependent on the surface water resources. So since the sources depended to meet our needs differs from rural to urban, we need a differential response. Now for arriving at this response, we also need to know another important factor or another important part. This part is the root causes that pay away for the water crisis. Now as author already suggested, we have to classify the locations into urban and rural. We are going to see the root causes based on urban areas and rural areas. And we will be taking the examples as taken by the author. Now for the water crisis and for its causative factors, in the urban areas, author has taken the example of Chennai. As you know Chennai is a city, Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu. And particularly in the year 2019, this city went without piped water for months. So this created a water crisis in the city and many factors were responsible for this water crisis. Now one of the main reasons cited for this water crisis is the poor rainfall that was received by the city in that particular year. But this was not only the sole reason because in that same year, if you could remember, the city also suffered from severe floods. So apart from the changing pattern of rains, there are also some ground level missteps that have led to this crisis. And one of the major misstep is that the city has been built by encroaching the flood plains. That is the city has been built on the flood plains. And it has also been built over lakes. So this actually prevents the process of groundwater recharge. In addition to this, it is a metropolitan city, so the buildings are closely packed. So there is lack of adequate space for water to percolate underground. And this also prevents the rainwater from recharging the aquifers that are underground. In addition to this, the increased infrastructure projects, they also cause loss of green cover in the city. So all these situations have caused stagnation of water during normal rain, which in turn leads to floods in the city. So that means on one hand we have floods, but on the other hand, these conditions also lead to drought like situations because there is prevention of groundwater recharge. So these are the reasons stated by the author for the water crisis in the most cities and in the urban areas. So the reasons are encroaching the flood plains and lakes, then affecting the process of groundwater recharge, then closely packed buildings, then increased infrastructure projects leading to loss of green cover. So this was regarding urban areas. Now if we come to the rural areas, here author has taken the example of Punjab. And the main problem in Punjab that has led to water crisis is the extraction of groundwater resources. The situation is quite severe here. This has also been noted by the Central Groundwater Board, which concluded that if the extraction of groundwater resources continues in Punjab, then Punjab would be reduced to a desert in 25 years. And in talk about Punjab and the water crisis, we can also link the green revolution because green revolution led to the cultivation of water intensive crops such as paddy. So this has again aggravated the water depletion and it is even causing increasing salinity of the water. So in rural areas, excessive extraction of groundwater is a major reason. And if that particular rural area depends on agriculture, then using or cultivating water intensive crops will lead to depletion of groundwater. So these are the causative factors listed by the author for water crisis in our country. Now to overcome this water crisis, we need to follow an integrated approach according to the author. And for this, the government should alter its strategies as per the requirement of the area. For example, in case of urban areas, the Ministry of Water Resources can reconfigure its relationship with other ministries and departments and they should coordinate effectively for implementing proper regulations to protect urban water bodies, groundwater sources, wetlands and green cover. And then they can also work towards enhancing wastewater recycling and they can take up water recharge activities. For example, they can take up the activities that will lead to recharge of aquifers and wells and this could be done through rainwater harvesting. So these measures can be taken with respect to urban areas. Now in case of rural areas, this crisis can be addressed through participatory groundwater management approaches and such an approach should have a combination of water budgeting, aquifer recharging and community involvement. So in this, what is water budgeting? See a water budget is a measure of the amount of water entering and the amount of water leaving a system. It is a way to evaluate all the sources of supply and the corresponding discharges with respect to a basin or aquifer. This water budget is a basic tool that can be used to evaluate the occurrence and movement of water through the natural environment. So a water budget is used to manage development of water resources within a region and also to ensure a sustainable supply of water over time. Why? Because it commonly provides knowledge about how much water is available, where it is available and also provides detailed understanding of the flow dynamics of water. Now these flow dynamics also include the origin and movement of groundwater and surface water and it also provides the interaction between these two water sources. Now this water budget also studies the volumes of water within the various reservoirs of the hydrologic cycle and it also takes into account the water cycle, evapotranspiration, groundwater and surface water supplies, inter basin transfer of water, etc. So a water budget is important to understand as it also provides crucial information regarding the carrying capacity of the land with regard to water resources. So water budget gives you a knowledge regarding the water resources in a particular area and how to manage it. So this water budgeting along with aquifer recharging activities with the community involvement should be a part of the groundwater management approach that should be taken in the rural India according to the author. But while doing this we should not forget that surface water conservation is also important in the rural areas. So the conclusion is that there is a need to work towards protecting and conserving the water resources in one hand and on the other hand there is a need to work towards minimizing and enhancing the efficiency of water usage and most importantly we need to adopt a differential location specific approach to address this water crisis. So that is all in this discussion we saw about the water crisis in our country we took the example of Chennai and Punjab to understand the water crisis in urban and rural areas and we also saw some of the measures that need to be taken to address the water crisis in urban and rural areas. So with this discussion now let us move on to the next one. Now our next discussion is going to be based on this advertisement this ad is related to Uttarakhand. To be more specific this ad talks about the Kedarnath redevelopment project. So today we are going to see about Kedarnath its significance and we will also see about the famous Char Dham and also some of the important points mentioned in this advertisement. See Kedarnath is a place in India it is one of the most revered temple towns of our country. This town is built around the Kedarnath temple. This temple is one of the greatest Hindu pilgrimage centers of northern India. See this place is located in the Ruduprayag district of Uttarakhand and it is located near the Chorabadi glacier. Remember that this Chorabadi glacier is the source of Mantagini river. This Mantagini river is the tributary of Alaknanda. We know that Alaknanda is one of the head streams of river Ganga. Now behind this Kedarnath temple we can find the Kedarnath peak, we can find the Kedarnath dome and also other important Himalayan peaks. Remember that this temple is a shrine that is dedicated to Lord Shiva of Hindu mythology and it is one of the 12 Jyothirlingas. And most importantly this temple is a part of the Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. This circuit is important in the religion of Hindu. So let us see about this Char Dham pilgrimage circuit now. Now in this the word Char Dham refers to the four dhams which means four religious places. So this Char Dham refers to the place in Uttarakhand and it is a collective term which is used to refer to the religious circuit that is covering four holy Hindu pilgrimage centres. And these four important Hindu pilgrimage centres are Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. These are considered to be the most sacred religious places to be visited by Hindus and there is a belief behind these places that Char Dham helps the devotees or the pilgrims to get rid of their sins and it aids them in their path to the ultimate goal of human life which is Moksha. As you know Moksha is the redemption from the cycle of birth and death in this world. So these four places are important Hindu religious places and note that all these four temple shrines are located in Garhwal Himalaya's range of Uttarakhand. Now since we saw that these are the sacred religious places important for Hindus. The Hindu pilgrims they go on Char Dham travel also this is called as Char Dham Yatra and the traditional point to start this Char Dham Yatra is Haridwar in Uttarakhand. So we can assume the cultural significance of these places and because of that a government has allocated more than 700 crores for various construction works in Char Dham. And in this regard only now this Kedarnath development project is quite important and this project involves these important missions or sub-projects. As you can see under this project there will be construction of Adiguru Shri Shankaracharya Samiti and there will be redevelopment of Sangam Ghat. Then rain shelter retention walls and stairs will also be constructed. So all these sub-projects will be taken up under this Kedarnath redevelopment project. Now why there is a need for redevelopment because this place was destroyed in 2013. If you remember in the year 2013 Uttarakhand met with flash floods when the banks of Chorabadi lake overflowed. Now this flood carried huge amounts of silt and rocks and it destroyed the lives houses and everything that that came in its way. So after this incident the reconstruction of this area began in 2014 and it is said to be the first time in modern history that such a development and reconstruction project is being done in the Kedarnath Dham. And also remember that in the coming 5th of November our Prime Minister is going to inaugurate and lay foundation store for reconstruction works in new Kedarpuri which is a new city and the government has spent around 70 crores on these projects so far. So these are some of the points that you need to know regarding Kedarnath and the Kedarnath redevelopment project. Let's move on to the next discussion. Our next discussion is going to be based on this news article. It talks about a recent issue between France and United Kingdom. So this issue is quite important because we know that France and UK are historic adversaries because they have a long-standing rivalry. Now on these lines a new issue has been added to the list and this issue is about a fight over post-Brexit fishing rights. So you can see why this topic is important for us because it talks about one of the issues that has been caused by the Brexit deal. So in this discussion let's briefly go through this issue and first let us know why suddenly this issue is in use. The issue is in use due to the recent developments that happened yesterday that is on 1st November 2021. What happened was Britain has warned France that it would take action if France does not withdraw its unreasonable threats due to the fight over fishing rights. See earlier France threatened to impose trade measures or sanctions on Britain and it threatened this due to the fight over this fishing rights and this issue started with Brexit. As you know Brexit is a name given to the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union. That is United Kingdom exited European Union. It is no longer a member of European Union. Now while doing so United Kingdom and European Union negotiated a new trade agreement and during these negotiations fishing was one of the key sticking points. It is said that fishing was even the last issue to be resolved in the trade negotiation and now there is a fight over these fishing rights between Britain and France. Why because France is an European Union member therefore the agreement applies between United Kingdom and France that means Britain and France. So actually what does the trade deal say about fishing rights? See it says over the next five and a half years the United Kingdom will gradually gain a greater share of the fish from its own waters. So what was the scenario before Brexit then? See before Brexit the UK waters. They were accessible for fishing by all the European Union members and this was possible under the policy of European Union called as Common Fisheries Policy. So based on this policy all the European Union members gained access to the UK waters and they were able to fish there based on different agreements under this policy. Now due to this United Kingdom only got low share of the fish catch because there was quota. So what is this quota? See quotas are used by many countries to manage shared fish stocks. Such quotas determine how many fish of each species are allowed to catch by each country's fleet. So that means if a country is allotted a quota then that country is allowed to only that many fish of that particular species. But due to the existing Common Fisheries Policy UK got a lower share of the fish even if that fish was caught from its own waters that is from its own seas. But now due to the trade deal that was negotiated and that is being implemented from 2021 after Brexit Britain will gradually gain a greater share of the fish and eventually it will have total control over the fish from its own waters. So does this mean even after Brexit European Union members can access United Kingdom's waters for fishing? Actually yes. It is because we said that UK will gain access only gradually. So until then the European Union members can access UK waters for fishing. So this is until 2026 because according to the trade deal UK could choose to ban European Union fishing boats from the year 2026 onwards. But UK will not be able to do this simply because if UK does this then European Union is also allowed to introduce taxes on British fish exports from the UK to the European Union. In addition to this European Union can also suspend access to its own waters for the boats from UK. So that means if UK imposes ban on European Union fishing boats from 2026 then European Union will also impose taxes as a retaliatory measure. But in the meantime what will happen in the meantime the European Union boats need licenses to catch fish in the UK waters. So for this purpose a criteria was set for such licenses in the trade deal. So what was the criteria? It was that the licenses would be granted to boats that could prove they had fished in a particular area between the period 2017 into 2020. So that means only those boats will be granted license who already fished in that particular area. So this was the criterion fixed. But now why did the issue with France actually started? See the issue actually started due to a decision that was taken last month by UK and the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel. As you know English Channel is the narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean. This English Channel separates the southern coast of England from the northern coast of France as you can see in this image. So the Channel Islands they are an archipelago in this English Channel and they comprise four main islands. They are the island of Jersey, Guernsey, Aldony and Sark. Now these islands are situated off the Normandy coast of France as you can see in this map. Actually as you can see these islands are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of St. Malo and they are 130 kilometers south of English coast. Here you should note that these islands are not part of the United Kingdom or even the European Union. But rather these islands are positions of the British Crown and they have independent administrations. But their habitants are British citizens only. So now what happened was the United Kingdom along with these Channel Islands they decided to deny fishing license to a dozen of French boats and as we already saw these licenses are required to access British waters. But this license was denied and according to United Kingdom the license was denied because the boats failed to fulfill the criterion which we just saw. So this decision enraged fans and it said that this decision of Britain and the Channel Islands breaches the Brexit deal and as a result of this only France earlier warned that if the dispute over fishing licenses was not resolved by today that is by 2nd November then it would impose trade sanctions like it would block British boats from landing their catches in some French ports and it will also tighten checks on the boats and trucks from United Kingdom. So this was the threat given by France and for this threat only now the United Kingdom has retaliated in today's news article. So in this discussion we saw about the issue of fishing rights between United Kingdom and the European Union. We saw what did the Brexit trade deal actually say about the fishing rights and then we also saw why the recent issue between Britain and France actually started. And along this discussion we also saw about English Channel and the Channel Islands. So with this news article discussion now let us move on to the next session of practice questions discussion. Now we're going to start this session by discussing two previous year problems practice question. Now this first question it appeared in 2014 this question is regarding Ganges River dolphins. The question asks other than poaching what are the possible reasons for the decline in the population of Ganges River dolphins. We discussed about the threats faced by the species during our discussion. So let us see the options given construction of dams and barrages on rivers increasing the population of crocodiles in rivers getting trapped in fishing nets accidentally use of synthetic fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals in crop fields in the vicinity of rivers. During discussion we saw about the fourth option so four should definitely be in answer. So you can eliminate option A and B. Now in the remaining options you can see that one and three are present in both the options that means construction of dams and barrages on rivers is the reason for decline in the population of the species and also getting trapped in fishing nets that is they are caught as bycatchers is also a reason for their decline. So we have to just decide whether two is correct or not increase in the population of crocodiles in rivers. Now during discussion we did not see any such reasons because here we are saying that one species is reason for the decline of other species. We did not see any such aspect so this is an incorrect statement actually so two should not be in the answer therefore the correct answer is option C 1, 3 and 4 only. Now this is also another previous question that appeared in 2015. The question asks which one of the following is the national aquatic animal of India and as we discussed already it is option C, Gangetic, Dolphin. Let us take this pair based question. On one side C's are given and on the other side bordering countries are given. First pair is Adriatic Sea, Albania. Second pair Black Sea, Croatia. Third pair English Channel, United Kingdom. Now during discussion we saw about the English Channel and we saw that it separates the southern coast of England from the northern coast of France and as we know England is a part of United Kingdom so third pair is a correct pair so we can eliminate options A and B because the question also asks for the correctly matched pair. Now in the remaining options you can see that one is also present so one is correct that is Adriatic Sea has been rightly matched with Albania. Now what we have to decide is whether Black Sea Croatia pair is right or not. Actually this is an incorrect pair. See this Black Sea is an inland sea between three regions one is the far southeastern Europe and then the far southwestern edges of continent of Asia and then the country of Turkey so obviously Turkey borders the sea and then Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia they also border Black Sea but Croatia doesn't border this sea so pair two is incorrect and that is why the correct answer to this question is option C one and three only. So aspirants with these three problems practice questions now let us take up this quiz question. This question has been framed on the Kedarnath discussion of today four options have been given and you have to choose the option which is not right with respect to Char Dham. So read each statement carefully and then you can write your correct answer in the comment section. You can also mention the reason for that answer to be the right answer. Now this is the main practice question for today. It is based on the editorial discussion as usual. You can write the answer for this question and post it in the comment section for peer review. So viewers with this we have come to the end of today's Hindi news analysis and practice questions discussion session. If you like this video don't forget to like comment and share and to subscribe to Shankar IS Academy YouTube channel for more updates related to civil services preparation. Thank you and happy Diwali to all.