 Shankar IAS Academy Admissions open for UPSC Coaching 2021-22 Classes starts on June 28th. Admissions contact 76677626. A warm welcome to the Indian news analysis by Shankar IAS Academy. These are the list of news articles that is chosen for today's discussion. They are given along with the page numbers of different editions. Also, the link for the handwritten notes in PDF format and the timestamp ink for the discussed articles are provided in the description box as well as in the comment section for the benefit of mobile phone viewers. Now, look at this news article. This article says that a COVID-19 Delta Plus variant was detected in Tamil Nadu. See, recently the Union Health Ministry had categorized the Delta Plus variant of the novel coronavirus as a variant of concern and it also directed the states to take up immediate containment measures in clusters where the variant has been detected. So, what exactly is this Delta Plus variant? See, the Delta Plus variant is a further mutated form of the Delta variant which is also known as the B1617.2 and it is originated in India and was predominantly responsible for India's second wave. See, this Delta Plus has an additional mutation called K417N and it was also found in the beta variant that was responsible for a massive surge in cases in South Africa and moreover this additional mutation is also found in the critical region of the virus that is the receptor binding domain through which it gains entry into the human cell. So, so far other than the Delta Plus variant, four more have been designated as variants of concern by the World Health Organization and these include the Alpha variant that was originated in UK, the Beta variant originated in Brazil, the Gamma variant that originated in South Africa and the Delta variant and the rest are considered as variant of interest. So, what exactly is this variant of concern and variant of interest? As we know, a combination of mutations in a virus results in various variants and in general there are three classes of SARS coronavirus 2 variants and they are variant of interest, variant of concern and the variant of high consequence. See, a variant of interest is a variant with specific genetic markers and they are associated with changes to receptor binding and reduced neutralization by antibodies generated and they may also result in reduced efficacy of treatments, potential diagnostic impact or predicted increase in transmissibility or disease severity. Coming to a variant of concern, so it is a variant for which there is evidence of an increase in transmissibility and more severe disease and it also results in significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines or even diagnostic detection failures. So, a variant of concern has many more attributes compared to a variant of interest and this includes substantially decreased susceptibility to therapies, reduced vaccine induced protection, increased transmissibility and also increased disease severity. Now, coming to a variant of high consequence, see it has clear evidence that prevention measures or medical counter measures have significantly reduced effectiveness relative to previously circulating variants and it has also got many more attributes compared to a variant of concern and this includes significant reduction in vaccine effectiveness, significantly reduced susceptibility to approved therapeutics and also more severe clinical disease etc. So, these are some of the important points that we need to remember from this article. Now, let's move on to the next news article. Next news discussion is going to be based on this editorial article titled, the gender technology gap has to end. As the title hints, this editorial article talks about the gender gaps in technology. So, in this regard, let us see what the article is got to tell us. The syllabus covered by this editorial article is highlighted below for your reference. First, let us understand what is gender gap. See, gender gap is defined as a difference between the way men and women are treated in society or between what men and women do and achieve and this editorial throws light on the reflection of this social difference in technology as well. See, technology is supposed to be gender neutral but technology is merely a product of the social setup. The gender gap has percolated into technology as well and in saying so, the author has quoted some facts to substantiate his claim or statement. See, according to the global system for mobile communications estimates, over 390 million women in low and middle income countries did not have internet access and if you note in India, only 14.9% of women were reported to be using the internet. Now, say for example, if a family has only one digital device, then it is more likely that the father or sons will be allowed to use it exclusively. So, this has got a huge impact. What happens is, the women in the household are deprived of the perks of internet, mainly the services through internet and essential services like education are scorned by men because they only get access to the device and if you see the vaccine coverage among women is 17% lesser when compared to that of men and we know that vaccine coverage recovers coven registration which in turn requires access to smartphone and computer. So, here we see health services are also denied to women due to this technological divide and besides this, it shall also be noted that most technology are created by men and this man who is making the technology ends up making technology that supports his kind exclusively and if you see apps or applications, there are about 2 million apps most of which cater to young men whereas the number of apps that cater to women specific needs are not many. So, this points to the need of adoption of feminist technology or FemTech. See, feminist technology is nothing but an approach to technology and innovation that is inclusive, informed and responsive to the entire community with all its diversity. In the year 1950s, dishwashers and washing machines were promoted as a method of emancipating women and this can be regarded as the primitive thought form of feminist technology. So, in those lines, the United Nations women along with the informations and communications technology has initiated a number of initiatives like equal and girls and informations and communications technology aim to rope more women into science, technology, engineering and mathematics that is this aims at transforming the making process of technology to be more inclusive and thereby making the technology driven products also inclusive. So, the author concludes by saying that women and girls are the largest consumer groups who are left out of technology and that said they could be major profit drivers. See, according to the global system for mobile communications, closing the gender gap in mobile internet usage in low and middle income countries would actually increase the GDP by 700 billion US dollars over the next five years and technology working on women benefit has the advantage of 50 percentage of humankind has new and unexplored market and the private sector can and should be quick to reap the benefit while achieving the novel goal of gender equality and that brings us to the end of the discussion on this editorial. See, during the course of our discussion we came across ITU or international telecommunication union. So, let us see about it very briefly now. See, the international telecommunication union is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies and remember this international telecommunication union is at quartered at Geneva Switzerland. If you see it was originally founded in 1865 as international telegraph union and in 1947 only it became the international telecommunication union and this international telecommunication union it tries to mainly promote cooperation among international telegraphy networks of those days. So, this ITU predates many other standardization bodies and interesting few are the standardization of the use of the Morse code and the world's first radio communication and fixed telecommunication networks. But now this body does a number of functions in tune with the present day requirements and this includes like allocating global radio spectrum, allocating satellite orbits, developing the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies to seamlessly interconnect and it also strives to improve the access to informations and communication technologies to underserved communities worldwide. Or to simply put every time you make a phone called via the mobile access the internet or send an email you are benefiting from the work of this ITU or the international telegraph union. So, with this we have come to the end of this editorial discussion. Let's move on to the next news article. Now, let us take up this editorial article titled Engage Iran. See, recently the United States decided to block dozens of Iran linked websites and it even includes the websites of Iran's state-owned press TV and this has caused tensions in the ties between Iran and the United States. So, in this context let us know about the issues surrounding it along with the discussion on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Agreement which is expected to resume in the future. The syllabus covered by this editorial article is highlighted below for your reference. See, last month there was news about the initiatives by world powers to hold high-level talks and this initiative was aimed at bringing the United States back into the nuclear deal with Iran. So, in this setting let us refresh our memory about the nuclear deal which is also called as the JCPOA Agreement. See, the Iran nuclear deal also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is an agreement between several world powers. To make it clear, this Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is a result of prolonged negotiations that took place from the year 2013 till 2015 and this negotiation was between Iran and the P5 countries alongside Germany and European Union. Know that the P5 countries present in negotiations are the United States, United Kingdom, China, Russia and France. So, as a result of this negotiation, a deal was signed which is named as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or the JCPOA. See, this deal came after years of tension over Iran's alleged efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. But, however, Iran insisted that its nuclear program was entirely peaceful but the international community did not believe that. So, later on after back channel talks between the United States and the Iran which was quietly brokered by Omen, the deal came into force in January 2016. In addition to these information, let us know the features of this agreement in brief. See, this agreement sets out rules for monitoring Iran's nuclear program and in return it paves a way for the lifting of the United Nations sanctions on Iran. As a part of this deal, Iran agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and also to allow in international inspectors in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. Note that it is a win-win situation for all the players in the deal and the aim of restoring peace and stability is rightly balanced through ensuring economic development in Iran by lifting the sanctions. Now, here note that the United Nations is also involved in this process and as said earlier there is a monitoring mechanism that is put in place in order to assure that Iran complies with the accord and hence for this purpose the UNSC or the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution in the year 2015 and according to this resolution the United Nations Atomic Energy Agency which is called as the International Atomic Energy Agency will continue to have regular access to information on Iran's nuclear program. So, this is all about the JCPOA agreement. Now, let us see what happened to this deal and why it is often mentioned in the news. See, the agreement got off to a fairly smooth start and the IAE or the International Atomic Energy Agency certified in early 2016 that Iran had met its preliminary pledges and even the United States European Union and the United Nations they responded by repealing their sanctions. Most significantly the United States President Barack Obama's administration they dropped secondary sanctions on the oil sector which allowed Iran to ramp up its oil exports and additionally the United States and many European nations also unfroze about 100 billion dollars worth of frozen Iranian assets. But, however, the deal has come to near collapse since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from it in 2018 and reinstated devastating banking and oil sanctions over Iran. See, according to the United States ex-President Donald Trump the agreement failed to address Iran's ballistic missile program and its proxy warfare in the region. And after such a move from the United States, Iran accused the United States of reversing its commitments and also faulted Europe for submitting to the United States unilateralism. And later on, following the drone strike on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Cops commander General Qasim Suleiman, Iran announced that it would no longer observe the JCPOA's restraints and after such incidents it was reported that Iran began breaching the deal and started nuclear enrichments and later on after the formation of a new government in the United States several news reported that the US delegation in Vienna they took part in indirect talks with Iran and hence both countries indicated signs of finding a solution to this JCPOA issue. However, as the article mentions, there is an argument between the countries on who should resume the deal first. The United States, they want Iran to return to the terms of the original agreement while the Iranians want the sanctions lifted first. So this is the tussle that is going on between the two countries at present. Now coming to the news article, the recent decision of the United States to block the Iranian websites is seen as a roadblock for furthering their ties. See the United States decision is based on the accusation that Iran uses news websites to spread disinformation and even if this accusation is true, there are other effective ways to fight disinformation campaigns like promoting information and strengthening of independent journalism etc. Hence the article mentions that this move from the United States will only delay further the progress in finding a solution to the Iran nuclear deal. So these are some of the takeaway points from this editorial discussion. With these information in mind, let's move on to the next news article. Now let us take up this news article. This article says that the Tamil Nadu School Education Department has released a schedule for admissions under the Right to Education or the RTE Act of 2009 and as a part of this, all schools have been asked to submit the details regarding the total intake capacity. So in this context, let us discuss some of the important provisions of the Right to Education Act of 2009. The syllabus covered by this article is given below for your reference. See in India, children between the age group of 6 and 14 years have got the Fundamental Right to Free and Compulsory Education and this right is implemented through the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009 which is also called as the RTE Act and this act is applicable to all categories of schools including both government as well as private schools. Know that Section 3 of this Act deals with the Right of Child to Free and Compulsory Education and this section says that every child of the age of 6 to 14 years shall have the Right to Free and Compulsory Education in a neighborhood school and this right is extended till the completion of his or her elementary education and note that for this, no child shall be liable to pay any kind of fee which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing the elementary education. So as we know elementary education means the education from first class to eighth class. See there may arise a question like what if a child is not admitted to or failed to complete elementary education. See in such case the Act says that such a child shall be admitted in a class appropriate to his or her age and in order to ensure that the child is at par with others, he or she has got the right to receive special training and such a child shall also be entitled to free education till the completion of elementary education even after 14 years. Also Section 6 of the Act mandates the appropriate government and local authority to establish school within the limits of the neighborhood and as per the Act this should have been within a period of 3 years from the commencement of this Act but even today we may come across lakhs of children in India who miss their elementary education due to lack of accessibility. Now come into financial responsibilities. See the central government and the state governments they shall have concurrent responsibility for providing funds and as per the Act the parents and guardians are duty bound to admit his or her child or what to an elementary education in the neighborhood school and the Act also provides for preschool education. See as per Section 11 in order to prepare a child above the age of 3 years for elementary education the appropriate government may provide free preschool education. Now coming to Section 12 of the Act see this section has got the provisions to ensure the school's responsibility for free and compulsory education. If the school is established or controlled by the appropriate government then it shall provide free and compulsory elementary education to all children admitted. Next is the case of an aided school receiving aid from government to meet whole or part of its expenses. See such schools shall provide free and compulsory elementary education to a minimum of 25% of the total children admitted. So what if the schools are unaided and they are not receiving any kind of aids or grants to meet its expenses from the government. See even then they are mandated to provide free and compulsory elementary education to at least 25% of the children belonging to weaker section and disadvantaged group in the neighborhood and this is applicable for class one admissions of such schools. So finally as per the RTE Act no school or person shall while admitting a child collect any capitation fee and also neither the child nor his or her parents or guardian shall be subjected to any screening procedure and in case of contravention the school shall be punishable with fine which may even extend to 10 times the capitation fee charged. So with this we have come to the end of this discussion with these points in mind let's move on to see what the next article is got to tell us. Our next news discussion is going to be based on this news article. See this news article is regarding the fake currency circulation in the country. So along with a few facts related to it we shall discuss the measures that the government has taken to address the fake currency circulation. See fake Indian currency note is a term that is used by officials and media to refer to counterfeit currency notes that are circulated in the Indian economy. And according to the Reserve Bank of India's annual report for 2020 to 2021 the overall fake Indian currency notes in circulation during the period 2020 to 2021 decreased as compared to the previous year. But surprisingly the fake bank notes of rupees 500 denominations were found to be increasing. At the same time period that is 2020 to 2021 reported an increase of 31.3% in counterfeit notes that were detected in the new 500 rupees notes denomination has compared with the previous year. Fortunately there was a decline in counterfeit notes that were detected in other denominations or to be more specific a total of 39453 fake bank notes of rupees 500 denomination series were discovered during the year. And in addition 1.11 lakh fake notes of rupees 100 were detected during the year. And the Arbe report also said that a total of 2.9 lakh fake bank notes of all denominations were detected during the year and this number was significantly down when compared to the 2.97 lakh fake notes that were detected during 2019 to 2020. So these are a few facts related to fake news circulation. So now let us discuss the steps that were taken by the government to address the issue. Now let us see it one by one. See firstly a terror funding and fake currency cell has been constituted in the National Investigation Agency and this cell conducts focused investigation of terror funding and fake currency cases. Secondly an advisory on terror finance has been issued in April 2018 to states and union territories and guidelines have also been issued in March 2019 to states and union territories for investigation of cases of high quality counterfeit Indian currency notes. Thirdly training programs are regularly conducted for the state police personnel and before discussing the other measures you have to know that the fake Indian currency notes network is one of the channels of terror financing in India and hence in order to address this the FICN Coordination Group or the Fake Indian Currency Notes Coordination Group shortly known as FCOT has been formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs and this group functions to share the intelligence information among the security agencies of the states or center and this helps in countering the problem of circulation of fake currency notes and most importantly the government has strengthened the provisions in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act of 1967. See this act assists in combating terror financing by criminalizing the production or smuggling or circulation of high quality fake Indian currency as a terrorist act and alongside this act enlarges the scope of countering terrorism by allowing takeover of any property that are used for terrorism. In addition to all these measures the government has increased its security at the international borders so that no external forces disturb the internal security. So with this we have come to the end of this topic discussion. Let us now move on to the practice question discussion. Now look at this prelims practice question about the mutation in novel coronavirus. See statement one says that delta plus variant is a further mutated form of the alpha variant that originated in the UK and statement two says that a variant of concern have a much greater transmissibility and may easily become resistant to established drugs compared to a variant of interest and we need to find the correct statement. See when you take statement one this statement is incorrect because the delta plus variant is a further mutated form of the delta variant which originated in India and not the alpha variant which originated in the UK and as we saw earlier this delta plus variant is said to be predominantly responsible for India's second wave. Now coming to the next statement from our discussion it is clear that this statement that is the second statement is correct so therefore the right answer is option b that is two only. Now let us take up this prelims practice question with reference to the right to education act of 2009. The first statement says that it provides for free and compulsory education to all children of the age of four to eighteen years and statement two says out of the class one admissions in unaided schools at least 25 percent of the children shall belong to weaker section and disadvantaged group in the neighborhood and we need to find the correct statement. See when you take statement one this statement is incorrect because right to education is an act to provide for free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years and not four to eighteen years so this statement is incorrect. Coming to statement two see this statement is correct because in the right to education act the class C of section 12 makes it very clear it says that unaided schools shall admit in class one to the extent of at least 25 percent of the strength of that class children belonging to weaker section and disadvantaged group in the neighborhood and they shall be provided free and compulsory education till its completion. So statement two is correct and since the question wants us to identify the correct statement the right option is option B that is two only. Now let us take up this prelims practice question. Statement one says that as per the RBI report the overall fake currency circulation in India has decreased in the year 2020 to 21 and statement two says that terror funding and fake currency cell has been constituted in the enforcement directorate to restrict the fake currency circulation and we need to find the correct answer. See as we discussed earlier the Reserve Bank of India's annual report for 2020 to 21 says that the overall fake Indian currency notes in circulation during the period 2020 to 21 decreased as compared to the previous year and similarly the RBI report also said that a total of 2.9 lakh fake banknotes of all denominations were detected during the year and this number was significantly down when compared to the 2.97 lakh fake notes that was detected during the year 2019 to 2020 and therefore statement one is correct. Coming to statement two see while discussing the measures taken by the government we saw that a terror funding and fake currency cell has been constituted in the national investigation agency and not in the enforcement directorate and this cell conducts focused investigation of terror funding and fake currency cases and therefore statement two is incorrect and since the question wants us to find only the right statement the correct answer is option A that is one only. The list of main practice questions is displayed here you can write your answers and post them in the comment section below. So with this we have come to the end of today's indoor news analysis. If you like the video then don't forget to like comment and share and do subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy YouTube channel for more updates regarding UPSC civil services preparation. Shankar IAS Academy Admissions open for UPSC Coaching 2021-22 Classes starts on June 28 for Admissions Contact 76677626