 A very good evening aspirants, welcome to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankar Ayes Academy for the day 3rd of September 2022. Before starting our discussion today, I have an announcement for you. See the pre-storming test series batch 1 is starting up on September 19 and it is only to be held in Ananagar branch, okay. A total of 66 tests which involves GS, CSAT as well as the full mock test is to be conducted only in the Ananagar branch and note that it is to be held only in the offline mode, okay. And the test will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. followed by a live discussion from 4.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m., okay. And note that the students who missed the offline test can take the test after two days in online through Qiskipotel but only recorded discussion will be provided, okay. And the online mode test availability is until our mock test before prelims 2023 exam, okay. See the offline or online orientation timing will be from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., okay. And the explanation key and recorded discussion will be provided for you. So friends, please don't miss this opportunity. The first test will be on September 19, kindly enroll before that so that you will never miss this wonderful opportunity of taking 66 tests which will definitely help in your preliminary preparation, okay. And now with this good news, let's start our today's discussion. Displayed here are the list of news articles that we have chosen for today's discussion. And as I always say a discussion will be holistic that is it will be covered in both preliminary as well as it means perspective, okay. And at the end we will be discussing the practice question along with that we will have quiz question also for you, okay. Now without wasting much time, let's get into the first news article discussion. Now have a look at this news article. See this news article talks about Madden Julian Oscillation or MJO. See in a new study it has been found that this Madden Julian Oscillation can influence extreme rainfall over the state of Kerala in the monsoon season. Thus it is said that this MJO or the Madden Julian Oscillation can cause an anomalous change in the rainfall activity over Kerala, okay. And note that this study is done by the Cochin University of Science and Technology and it has been published in Ailes Avers atmospheric research journal. So this is the crux of the news article given here and in this context let us discuss about the Madden Julian Oscillation in detail, okay. See it was discovered in the year 1971 by Dr. Roland Madden and Dr. Paul Julian of the American National Center for Atmospheric Research. That is why it is named as Madden Julian Oscillation, okay. And it is a moving oceanic atmospheric phenomenon which encircles the globe. It is a moving eastward pulse of clouds, rainfall, winds and pressure near the equator, okay. See it moves at a speed of about 14 to 28 kilometer per hour and typically recurs every 30 to 60 days. But in case if it is disrupted then the cycle period is about 90 days, okay. When you ask me about the effect, the effect of the MJO is witnessed mainly in the tropical region. That is in the band between 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator. Though MJO encircles the globe from west to east in the tropical zone near the equator, it is strongly related to Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, okay. The strong moving MJO activity often splits the planet into two phases. That is active phase, that is enhanced convection and then suppressed phase, okay. In the active phase, it is characterized by relatively warmer area and raising of the air column which is known as convection. And enhanced convection results in more than average rainfall for that time of the year. While if you take the suppressed phase, the area receives less than average rainfall, okay. See to understand better, look at the following life cycle of the MJO. In stage 1, no, enhanced convection, that is rainfall develops over the western Indian Ocean. In stage 2 and 3, then enhanced convection, no, moves slowly eastwards over the Indian Ocean and parts of the Indian subcontinent, okay. Then if you take the stage 4 and 5, the enhanced convection has reached the maritime continent. That is near Indonesia and west Pacific, okay. And in stage 6, 7 and 8, the enhanced rainfall moves further eastward over the western Pacific, eventually dying out in the central Pacific, okay. So the next MJO cycle begins after this. Therefore, the local weather conditions are modified based on the stages of the life cycle of the MJO, okay. So to summarize, an active phase is generally followed by a weak or suppressed phase in which there is little MJO activity. And pre-active MJO periods are witnessed every year on average, okay. And as we have already said, the effect of the MJO is witnessed mainly in the tropical region. That is in the band between 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator. The mid-latitude region, that is beyond tropics in both hemispheres, they also feel its impact but it is negligible, okay. And notice that India falls in this tropical band and it is also influenced by the MJO. And in the tropics, including India, MJO in its active phase brings frequent cyclonic activity. And it can also initiate the onset of the monsoons, okay. Then it can cause one or two weeks of intense rainfall at the onset of the monsoon and the active phase of the MJO coincides, okay. And when you take the study that is mentioned in the news article, it has found that the active MJO phases can generate organized deep convective cloud clusters. That is cumulon number clouds over the state of Kerala. And this can eventually result in very heavy rainfall over a short duration of time. The thing here is, as we have already discussed, the extreme rainfall events occurring over Kerala is coinciding with the occurrence of active MJO phase over the equatorial Indian Ocean, okay. And according to the researchers, the withdrawal of the Indian summer monsoon may be delayed by the occurrence of active MJO during September to November, okay. Here you have to note only one thing, the active MJO does not necessarily result in extreme rainfall if its amplitudes are weak, okay. So that's all about this news article. See in this news article, we had clearly discussed about a geography topic that is Madan Julian oscillation and how it is influencing Indian monsoon and especially in the state of Kerala, currently what is happening also, we had this, okay. So this is an important topic in both your problems as well as in mains, okay. So with these key points in mind, now let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now have a look at this news article. See this news article talks about POCSO. It is in use today because yesterday the POCSO court have granted bail to two of the accused in the Valayar minor sister's death case. See let's not get deeper into the issue. Instead, let us use this as an opportunity and learn about POCSO in preliminary perspective. See the protection of children from sexual offenses act which is abbreviated as POCSO act has been enacted to protect the children from offenses of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography. And it also provides for the establishment of special courts for trial of such offenses and related matters and incidents, okay. Note that the act is gender neutral and it aims to ensure the healthy physical emotional intellectual and social development of the child or any person below 18 years of age, okay. See remember the act defines different forms of sexual abuse including penetrative and non-penetrative assault as well as sexual harassment and pornography. The act further deems a sexual assault to be aggravated under certain circumstances. For example, if the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a member of the armed forces or security forces or a public servant or a person in a position of trust or authority then the sexual assault is deemed to be aggravated, okay. Now coming to the punishments under this act, see the penetrative sexual assault on a child can lead to an imprisonment for not less than 10 years and it may extend even up to life imprisonment and fine. And as you can see in this image whoever commits penetrative sexual assault on a child below 16 years of age shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than 20 years and it may extend to life imprisonment or the imprisonment for the reminder of natural life of that person and note that they shall also be liable to fine. Similarly the act says that the use of child for pornographic purposes can lead to imprisonment for not less than five years and there will be fine and in the case of subsequent conviction the person may be imprisoned up to seven years along with fine, okay. See in order to prevent the misuse of the law punishment has also been provided for making false complains or providing false information with malicious intent, okay. And usually such punishment has been kept relatively light like six months so as to encourage reporting, okay. But in case the complaint is made against a child the punishment is higher that is up to one year, okay. And as I already said the act provides for the establishment of special codes for the trial of offenses under the act and it incorporates child friendly procedures for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and trial of offenses. For example the statement of the child can be recorded at the residence of the child or the place of his or her choice and it will be preferably by a women police officer not below the rank of sub inspector, okay. Likewise the police officer should not be in uniform while recording the statement of the child. See all these measures shows how child friendly the procedures are am I right. And no doubt the act was amended in the year 2019 to make provisions for enhancement of punishments for various offenses and this was made to deter the perpetrators and ensure safety, security and dignified childhood for a child, okay. So that's all about this news article. See in this news article we had covered about Boxo Act and the fact behind it exclusively for preliminary perspective but note that whenever I had a chance I made an elaborate discussion of how useful these punishments are or how useful this act are those points you can use in your main senses, okay. So with these key points in mind now let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now have a look at this editorial article. See this news article speaks about the 10th review conference of parties to the NPT which is the non-proliferation treaty. This entered without an outcome and the reappearance of proliferation of nuclear weapons in global politics, okay. So through this discussion we will see about the background of this non-proliferation treaty then we will see what does the India stand on NPT then the successes and failures of NPT and also about the present proliferation of nuclear weapons, okay. See this discussion is going to be very much useful for your main examination as well as your preliminary examination and this is going to be covered exclusively so that you need not refer any other material for non-proliferation treaty, okay. So now let's begin our discussion. See the term NPT refers to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons which is commonly known as the non-proliferation treaty. The treaty was opened for signature in the year 1968 and it entered into force in the year 1970 and on 11th of May 1995 the treaty was extended indefinitely, okay. Now coming to the member countries of the treaty see a total of 191 states have joined the treaty including the UN authorized five nuclear weapons states. These five states are called as P5 because of the nature of their permanent membership to the United Nations Security Council, okay. And as you all know who are these countries? They are United States of America, United Kingdom, then Russia, France and China, okay. Now what is the objective of this non-proliferation treaty? Why it is formed? See first it is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology beyond the P5 countries. Second it is to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and thirdly it is to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and complete disarmament, okay. So these are the three main objectives of this non-proliferation treaty, okay. Now a question arises has India signed this treaty? The answer is no. Yes India, Israel, Pakistan have never signed the treaty. While India and Pakistan have publicly disclosed about the nuclear weapons, Israel's nuclear weapons capacity is still unclear, okay. Now let's see why India has never signed the treaty. See in article 2 and 4 of the non-proliferation treaty it asks for the countries to give up any present or future plans to build nuclear weapons. While the same articles exempt the P5 countries from the ambit of it. So it is because of these articles and the threat posed by our neighbours like China and Pakistan India chose to be not a part of this NPT, okay. So while we are discussing about why India has never signed we will also see what is India's nuclear policy. Let's see about this in a crisp manner, okay. See India's nuclear doctrine says that building and maintaining a credible minimum deterrent is needed then it follows no first use policy. By this what they are meaning see nuclear weapons will only be used in retaliation against a nuclear attack on Indian territory or and Indian forces anywhere. We are not going to use it in first itself, okay. And thirdly our policy says nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage, okay. And thirdly the nuclear retaliatory attacks can only be authorized by the civilian political leadership, okay. Then it also talks about the non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states. Then in the event of a major attack against India by biological or chemical weapons India will retain the option of retaliating with nuclear weapons, okay. And not only this the policy also talks about the continued observance of strict controls on export of nuclear and missile technologies and moratorium on nuclear tests. Then it talks about the continued commitment to the goal of a nuclear weapon free world through nuclear disarmament, okay. So these are the guiding principles of India's nuclear policy. See we now saw about India's nuclear policy so that when you are getting a means question like why India has not signed the non-proliferation treaty is it advisable or not you can utilize these points at that time, okay. Now let us see what are all the achievements of the non-proliferation treaty. Firstly the NPT has been able to contain the proliferation of nuclear weapons to only four states which are outside the P5 countries that is India, Pakistan, Israel and South Korea are the four states which are developing nuclear capabilities, okay. And secondly the NPT has been instrumental in developing the institution of international atomic energy agency into a nuclear watchdog around the globe. You would have come across a term IAEA that is International Atomic Energy Agency in the context of Iran developing nuclear capabilities in the newspapers I am right. Here this agency functions with the sole objective to deter the spread of nuclear weapons by the early detection of the misuse of nuclear material or technology. Note that India is a member country of this agency which has a total membership of 175 countries. So these are the two major achievements of NPT according to the author of this news article, okay. Let us now see what are the shortcomings of NPT. Firstly the third objective of NPT is to promote nuclear disarmament. This hasn't yielded any result. See there has been no discussions taking place to materialize the objective of this nuclear disarmament, okay. And secondly the NPT has not been able to reduce the number of nuclear warheads of both US and Russia beyond a point. So these are the two failures of NPT according to the author of this news article. Further the author talks about nuclear modernization. He says how in the present global scenario states like China and Russia or modernizing their nuclear weapons and missile launching systems. While discussing about this he talks about a term called nuclear entanglement. What is this nuclear entanglement means? See entanglement describes how militaries, nuclear and non-nuclear capabilities are becoming dangerously intertwined. See it is raising the chance of conventional conflict escalating into a full-scale nuclear war. This can be explained using an example. See several states including China and Russia are developing and deploying increasingly long-range missiles that can carry nuclear or non-nuclear warheads. Such missiles create the risk that a non-nuclear weapon could be mistaken for a nuclear weapon or vice versa. In a conflict if one state's defense warning system mistook non-nuclear armed missiles as nuclear it may launch a nuclear warhead. The targeted country might wrongly conclude that its nuclear forces were under threat and use them creating a nuclear conflict. You can note that the United States has threatened to respond to non-nuclear attacks on its early warning system with nuclear weapons. I hope you would have understood the term nuclear entanglement. So that's all about the shortcomings. Now coming to the other treaties discussed in the article, note that India is not a signatory to both the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and also the recent treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons, which is shortly called as TPNW. This information is particularly important in a preliminary perspective. Whenever you get this kind of treaties, know you must know whether India has signed the treaty or not. And through this discussion we came to know about what is NPT, then its success, then what are all its shortcomings. Then we also saw additionally about the India's nuclear policy. So as a whole, we had covered about a very important topic which is the non-proliferation treaty. So these key points in mind, now let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now have a look at this news article. See it talks about the Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji. This is in news because the Indian Navy has adopted a new enzyme for INS Vikrant, which is India's first indigenous aircraft carrier. Am I right? And see since 1950, no, this is the fourth time the naval enzyme has been changed. Now it is changed like this. See the new white enzyme now comprises two main constituents which is the national flag in the upper left side and the navy blue gold octagon at the center of the fly side. And the octagon is with twin golden octagonal bottles which draw their inspiration from Shivaji Maharaj Mudra or the seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. So this is the crux of the news article given here. And in this context, let us discuss about the Marathas, then the important wars waged by them, then their art and architecture and literature. Okay. Before that, the syllabus relevant to this news article is given here for your reference. Kindly go through it. Okay. Now let's begin our discussion. See by the end of the 17th century, a powerful state started emerging in the Deccan region under the leadership of Chhatrapati Shivaji. And this finally led to the establishment of the Maratha state. See it rose out of a sustained opposition to the Mughal rule. And the Maratha families which were prominent were Kekwad of Baroda, the Boneslay of Nagpur, the Holkars of Indore, the Sindhyas of Gwalior and the Peshwa of Pune. And under the Peshwas, the Marathas developed a very successful military organization. And during the period of Peshwa-Bajirao I, the Maratha Empire has expanded tenfold. That is from 3% to 30% of the modern Indian landscape. And this is during 1720 to 1740. See the defeat in the third battle of Panipat, that is in the year 1761, had weakened the control of the Peshwa. And also the third Anglo-Maratha war ended with the defeat of the Maratha. And this is where they lost their independence and the British took control over most of the India. Okay. Now let's see some of the important wars waged by the Marathas. Firstly take the third battle of Panipat. It was fought between the Marathas led by Sadashiv Rao and the Duranis of Afghanistan who is led by Ahmad Shah Abdali. And it took place in the year 1761. Okay. See the third battle of Panipat changed the power equations in India where it paid the way for British rule in India. Okay. Then comes the three Anglo-Maratha wars fought by the Marathas and the British. See the first Anglo-Maratha war was fought between 1775 to 1782. And in this war, the Maratha army was commanded by Mahaji Sindhya and the British forces got defeated. The outcome of the war was the Treaty of Sulbhai. Okay. Then comes the second Anglo-Maratha war which was fought between 1803 to 1805. And in this war, Marathas were defeated by the British and the Treaty of Basin was signed. Finally comes the third Anglo-Maratha war which was between 1817 to 1818. And again in this war also Marathas got defeated by the British and the Treaty of Pune with Peshwa was signed. Also the Treaty of Gwalior with Sindhya and the Treaty of Mansur with Holkar was also signed. Okay. And in June 1818, the Peshwa finally surrendered and the Maratha Confederacy was dissolved. So this is all about the wars and treaties. Now we will see about the art architecture of the Marathas. See the most important Maratha structures were found in the Tanjavur town of Tamil Nadu. In Tanjavur, there is a group of buildings constructed by Marathas within the 400-year-old palace complex. The palace is containing four main structures that is the Arsenal Tower, Belt Tower, Maratha Darbar Hall and the Sarja Madi. Also the Saraswati Mahal established by King Sarfoji II in Tanjavur was a unique example for the art and architecture of the Marathas. Then the other prominent architectures were Lal Mahal which was built by Shivaji's father. Also several fortifications were built throughout the Maratha Empire including Sainivarwada, Pratapgat, Rajgat and Mangat. Then talking about the sculptures, one of the masterpieces of Maratha sculpture was the bronze image of Ammani Amma who is the wife of Pratap Singh. See it is a portrait figure and it is now in the temple of Tiruvudai Marudu. It is in a standing posture holding a lamp in her hand, a parrot is seated on her right shoulder. And another sculpture was the silver-plated Bulwahana in Tanjavu temple. The stone sculptures of King Sarfoji II were an excellent piece of art. The statue is now in the Saraswati Mahal Library in Tanjavur. Okay, so that's all about the sculptures. Then when we talk about the paintings, the mural paintings in the front of Mandabha of the Subramanya shrine in the Brahadishwa temple at Tanjavur are classic examples of the Maratha paintings. Then the valuable portrait paintings of the Maratha rulers adorn the inner walls of Tanjavur palace and Saraswati Mahal. Okay, then while talking about their literature, the early Marathi literature was mostly religious and philosophical in nature and it was composed by the saint poets and among them Dhyaneswar was the prominent Marathi literary figure who authored Dhyaneswari. Okay, then the Bhakti saint Namdev who is a contemporary of Dhyaneswar is the other significant literary figure. He composed religious songs in Marathi and another early Marathi writer was Mukundaraja who wrote Viveka Sindhu and Paramamritha which deals with the Advaita philosophy. Okay, so that's all about this news article. See in this news article we spoke about the Maratha kingdom then important wars waged by them then we saw about the art architecture and literature. See these all we discussed because it is useful for your mains examination as well as your preliminary examination because the facts can be directly asked in your problems examination whereas when you take in mains examination know the art and architecture part of the literature part can be put as a question. Also the wars waged by them can be put as a question. Okay, so these key points in mind now let's move on to the next part of the news article discussion which is the preliminary practice question discussion. See today we have three questions in which two I will be discussing and one will be a quiz question for you. Okay and note that the quiz question will be displayed in the poll session also. Okay, interested aspirants can add on the poll. Now have a look at this first question. See this first question is regarding the mad and julian oscillation. Your two statements are given and you are asked to find the correct statement. Okay, now look at statement one the mad and julian oscillation is a westward moving pulse of clouds rainfall winds and pressure near the equator. If you read this statement it might look like it is correct but if you read it again you will note that there is one word that is making this statement incorrect. What is that word? Yes the westward. See the mad and julian oscillation is a eastward moving pulse of clouds rainfall winds and pressure near the equator especially between 30 degree north and 30 degree south not westward. Okay, so that westward moving pulse of clouds that line is making the statement incorrect. Okay and we also saw that right in the stages when we are discussing it is moving towards eastwards. Okay, now moving on to second statement the active MJO or the mad and julian oscillation always results in extreme rainfall. See while ending up the discussion cell I said right the mad and julian oscillation in its active phase need not always cause extreme rainfall depending upon the amplitude it might vary. Okay, if there is a weak amplitude then it need not cause extreme rainfall. Okay, so statement one is incorrect because it is saying always that is why it is incorrect. Okay, since the question is demanding for correct statements your answer here will be option D neither one nor two. Okay, now look at the second question see it is regarding the POXO Act. Here four statements are given and all these four statements are referring to the features of the POXO Act. Okay, so let me read out each and every statement and say whether it is correct or incorrect. Now look at statement one it is a gender neutral law see this we saw in the discussion itself yes it is common for any gender so it is a gender neutral law that statement is correct. Now look at statement two not reporting abuse is an offense see this statement is correct the act not only punishes the perpetrators of the sexual abuse but also penalizes those who have failed to report the offense with either imprisonment or a fine or both. Okay, and any person in charge of a company or an institution who fails to report the commission of a sexual offense relating to a subordinate under their control is liable to be punished with imprisonment and a fine under section 21 of this POXO Act. Okay, so statement two is also correct. Now looking at statement three see that is also correct no time limit for reporting abuse yes there is no time or age bar for reporting sexual offenses under the POXO Act. So a victim can report an offense at any time even a number of years after the abuse has been committed. Okay, therefore the organizations dealing with children in India cannot shunt child sexual abuse complaints raised against their employees on pretext of lapse of time. Okay, now coming to the fourth statement see that statement is also correct maintaining confidentiality of the victim's identity yes that is very much correct. See according to section 23 of the POXO Act it prohibits disclosure of the victim's identity in any form of media except when permitted by the special codes established under the Act. Okay, and a violation of this section no can attract punishments under the Act regardless of whether such disclosures are made in good faith or whatever it may be. Okay, so now coming back to the question the question is demanding for correct statement so your answer here will be option D 1 2 3 and 4 all the four statements are correct and see through this question we had discussed the features of the POXO Act which wasn't covered in the discussion okay. So as a whole if you are listening to the discussion and the discussion of the POXO Act question you will be able to cover the POXO Act holistically okay. Now have a look at this question this is a question for you see it is regarding our non-proliferation treaty discussion and it is a very easy question if you had keenly observed the discussion you can easily answer this question okay. So go through the question and post your answers in the comment section and the correct answer will be posted in the comment section within 24 hours okay. And displayed here are two means practice question see aspirants go through the question and try writing answer for this question because improving the writing skill is very much important for your mains examination okay. So that's all for today's discussion and if you like this video do like share and comment and don't forget to subscribe to the Shankaray's Academies YouTube channel. Thank you for listening.