 A very good evening aspirants. I have a very good announcement for you. See as problems is nearing I know mock test is being integral part of your preparation. But still just to help you to achieve your goal Shankarai's academy is providing you free problems mock test. See the test will be conducted across 13 centres both online and offline mode and to take the test you just have to register with a link given in the description below. The test will be conducted on three different dates. First test will be on 15th of May 2022. Second test will be on 22nd and third test will be on 29th of May 2022. Use this opportunity wisely and with this positive note. Now let us get into the list of articles for today's discussion. Today's date is 28th of April 2022. So these are the list of news articles we have chosen today for the discussion. We have four different news articles. In this first news article discussion we will be discussing about how hydrogen will be an alternative for fossil fuels. Then in the second news article discussion we will be discussing about value addition tax or WAT. In this third news article discussion we will be discussing about bird flu. And finally we will end our discussion by seeing an important article regarding mehalids. So now without wasting much time let us get into the news article discussion. Today let us start our news article discussion with this editorial article. Look at this article. This editorial is with reference to India's green hydrogen policy which was released on February 17 2022. See this policy was aimed at boosting the domestic production of green hydrogen to 5 million tons by 2030. And this policy also aims in making India an export hub for the clean fuel. See the policy has also addressed several critical challenges such as open access, waiver of interstate transmission, charges, banking, time bound clearance etc. And it is expected to boost India's energy transition. Note that India is the world's third largest energy consuming country and India's energy demand is expected to increase in the coming years. So in this scenario hydrogen as a fuel holds significant advantage for India's energy independence. So this is the cracks of the news article given here. In this context we will learn about the advantages of hydrogen fuel and the challenges associated with it. Then we will also discuss about five-step strategy to harness the potential of hydrogen fuel in India. So this is how the discussion is going to be. And before that the syllabus relevant to this article is highlighted here for your reference. Just go through it. First we will see the significance of hydrogen fuel. See hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. It is lighter, energy dense and three times more efficient than burning petrol. We know that India's electricity is heavily coal dependent right? So hydrogen has the potential to replace fossil fuels and can address pollution. Hydrogen can also play a major role in the decarbonization of India's transport sector. We know that hydrogen fuel cells provides an inherently clean source of energy as the byproducts are simply heat and water. The advantages of fuel cell vehicles over battery electric vehicles or faster fueling at long driving range thereby making them ideal for long-haul transportation which is a major constraint with lithium ion batteries. So to sum up hydrogen is the most abundant element. It is lighter and energy dense and it is three times more efficient than burning petrol. Hydrogen have the potential to replace fossil fuels and can address pollution thereby it actually plays a major role in decarbonization of India's transport sector. Hydrogen fuel cells also help us a lot because they provide clean source of energy on one hand and on the other hand the byproduct of the process is simply heat and water which does not cause any harm to the environment. And finally the advantage of fuel cell vehicles is that they are faster fueling long driving range and they are ideal for long-haul transportation. These were the constraints with lithium ion batteries but hydrogen defeats all these challenges. Now we'll look into the challenges associated with hydrogen fuel. See India's hydrogen conception was around 7 mt in 2020 and according to the energy and research institute or DERI it is anticipated to increase to about 35 mt by 2050. See one of the efficient methods of producing hydrogen is using the electrolytic processes but this process consumes large amount of electricity. On the basis of this to produce 35 mt India would require a tentative capacity in the range of 192 gigawatt to 224 gigawatt of electrolyzers by 2050. But the irony is that global capacity of electrolyzers has just crossed 30 mehawatt in 2021. This means that India itself would require an electrolyzer capacity of 640 to 750 times the current global capacity by 2050. So it looks like a distinct dream for India right? Apart from the ever increasing electricity demand the high cost of hydrogen manufacturing and water scarcity could also pose a challenge. See production of 1 kilogram of hydrogen by electrolyzers requires around 9 litres of water. Therefore hydrogen project planning should be holistic and targeted in areas that are not water scarce. Now to address the challenges the author suggests a five-step strategy both on the demand side and supply side. Now we will first see the five-step strategy on the demand side. Firstly to create an initial demand adequate incentives should be given to industries such as refining and fertilizers and the industries should be mandated to produce certain quantities of hydrogen energy every year. Secondly industries which are manufacturing low emission hydrogen based products need to be incentivized by government policies. For example green steel and green cement manufacturing industries. Thirdly blending hydrogen with natural gas can act as a big booster shot which can be facilitated by framing blending mandates and promoting Hutch CNG or hydrogen CNG stations. Hutch CNG is nothing but a hydrogen enriched compressed natural gas it is cleaner and more economical. Further to promote fuel cell electric vehicles or FCEVs hydrogen fuel stations may be planned on dedicated corridors where long distance trucking is widespread. Lastly the concept of carbon tariffs need to be introduced in India on the lines of European countries. For those who are not aware to tell it in simple words a carbon tariff is a tax imposed on imported goods from countries that do not curb their emissions of greenhouse gases. Carbon taxes not only capture the cost of negative externalities but would also incentivize and encourage firms to switch to cleaner and greener means of production which would be beneficial to both the environment and the economy. Hence it would be advantageous if such a tax were introduced in India. Now we'll see the five-step strategy on the supply side. Firstly investment in R&D should be accelerated to bring the cost of hydrogen at par with fossils. Secondly sustainable alternative towards affordable transportation or SATAD scheme with a target to produce 15 mmT of compressed biogas could be leveraged by exploring biogas conversion into hydrogen. Thirdly to commercialize and scale up nascent technologies a viable gap funding or VGF scheme may be introduced for hydrogen-based projects. Viability gap funding or VGF is decided to provide capital support to PPP projects which would not otherwise be financially viable. See this fund has the effect of reducing the revenue required to recover cost and provide a financially attractive returns for the private sector. Further to secure affordable financing electrolyzers manufacturing and hydrogen projects need to be brought under priority sector lending or PSL so that the electrolyzer manufacturers will get easy credit at a low interest rate. Lastly thrust should be on reducing the cost of electrolyzers by implementing the production link incentive for PLI scheme. Know that the two dominant cost factors for green hydrogen or renewable energy tariffs and electrolyzer cost and India has the advantage of one of the lowest renewable tariffs. So reducing the cost of electrolyzers could help India become a global hub for electrolyzer manufacturing and green hydrogen. See hydrogen has the potential to completely transfer India's energy ecosystem by sifting its trajectory from an energy importer to a dominant exporter over the next few decades. With hydrogen India could lead the world in achieving Paris Agreement's goal to limit global warming to 2 degree Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. Hydrogen could lay the foundation of a new India which would be energy independent a global climate leader and international energy power. Apart from this remember hydrogen fulfills three E's of India's energy road map that is energy security energy sustainability and energy access and according to the editorial article India should strive to seize one more E that is economic opportunity so that industries can be encouraged to its full potential. See hydrogen will certainly play a decisive role in India's net zero ambition by 2070 and in making India at my near bar in energy. So that's all about this editorial article in this editorial article we saw about significance of hydrogen fuel well then we saw some of the challenges associated with hydrogen fuel well and we saw five step strategy both on the demand side and supply side to address the challenges posed. So on the demand side firstly there must be an initial demand and for that adequate incentives should be given secondly industries which are manufacturing low emission hydrogen based products need to be incentivized by government policies. Thirdly blending hydrogen with natural gas should be encouraged and further to promote fuel cell electric vehicles hydrogen fuel stations may be planned on dedicated corridors where long distance trucking is widespread and finally the concept of carbon tariff needed to be introduced in India. So now looking at the supply side firstly investment in R&D should be accelerated secondly sustainable alternative towards affordable transportation scheme must be introduced. Thirdly to commercialize and scale up nascent technologies a viable gap funding scheme may be introduced further to secure affordable financing electrolyser manufacturing and hydrogen projects need to be brought under priority sector lending or PSL. Lastly thrust should be on reducing the cost of electrolyzers by implementing the PLI or production link incentive scheme. So with these insights now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now for our next discussion let us take up this news article. See the news article talks about the response by opposition to the PM's remark on value added tax or WAT on petrol and diesel. The news is not important but WAT is important. So let us know what WAT is. Firstly know that WAT or value added tax was introduced in 2005 in India. It was introduced on the recommendation of the report of the indirect taxation enquiry committee 1978 which is also known as LKJA committee. So have this basic understanding it was introduced to eliminate the presence of double taxation and the cascading effect from the then existing sales tax structure. So it was brought to eliminate the double taxation and the cascading effect which was caused due to the sales tax structure. So if you are not aware about this term cascading effect a cascading effect is when there is tax levied on a product at every step of the sale. In the previous sales tax structure the tax is levied on a value which includes tax paid by the previous buyer. So the consumer ends up paying tax on already paid tax. This obviously leads to double taxation right. This was avoided by WAT. But if you remember GSD that is goods and services tax also was brought in with the aim of eliminating cascading effect of taxes and simplifying the indirect tax structure right. Then did GSD subsume WAT this might be your doubt. See GSD replaced WAT on most goods but on some goods WAT continues to be the tax levied on them. Very important point if at all there was a question in UPSC problems that WAT completely was eradicated it is a false statement it is still levied on certain goods. Now specifically talking about WAT WAT is an indirect tax. As you know indirect tax means that is imposed on someone but its burden can be shifted to someone else. So let us see how this happens in WAT. See WAT is levied on goods and services for value added at every point of production or distribution cycle. So for example take a two wheeler manufacturing of two wheeler consist of different processes right. In every process a value is added to finally arrive at that desired two wheeler right. So under WAT system every time when value is added tax is levied. So from raw materials to the final retail purchase that is sale to the consumer WAT is imposed. Here the amount of value addition is first identified at each stage and then tax is levied on the same. So here ultimately the end consumer has to pay the complete WAT while buying goods. What this means is buyers at earlier stages of production receive reimbursement of tax they have paid. This happens because the consumer bears the entire tax. So consumers are not only paying for the WAT of the entire product at hand but also for the entire process of production. As the consumers ultimately bear the taxes it is also known as a consumption tax. Hope you can understand what is happening here but here also you might get a confusion like there might be a double taxation or you might have a doubt like how it actually avoids tax getting effect. See after the first sale within the state at every subsequent point of sale the tax is payable only on the value addition. So the new value that is added to that good or service is only taxed here. There is no tax on already paid tax and all transactions take place through invoices showing tax separately. So the system is very transparent. Then how it avoids double taxation. See that tax payers will receive reddit for tax already paid on procurement stages thereby avoiding double taxation. Now know that each state has its own WAT loss for proper implementation and levying. So different states apply different WAT rates according to their implied loss. One of the major benefits of WAT is it ensures better compliance since the tax is levied at each stage. So that's all you have to know about WAT system very very important economic topic that you have to revise for your preliminary examination. Make note of all the points which I have mentioned with these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. For our next discussion let us take up this news article. The news article mentions that a first human case of a bird flu has been reported in China. Here we are talking about the bird flu strain H3N8. So first let us understand what is bird flu and we'll see few informations about H3N8. See bird flu is also known as AVN influenza or AI. It refers to the disease caused by infection with AVN influenza type A viruses. It is very contagious among birds. See these viruses they naturally spread among wild aquatic birds worldwide. Here wild aquatic birds include water birds or water fowl such as ducks, geese, swans, gulls, turns and shore birds. See among these dabbling ducks they are considered reservoirs of type A viruses but the ducks may not get sick. Here also know that influenza A virus have been detected and are known to circulate in seven different animal species or groups also. This includes domestic poultry, other bird species, swine, horses, dogs and bats. Now this avian influenza virus has multiple strains or types. These strains can be divided into two based on its ability to cause disease in poultry. They are highly pathogenic avian influenza which is also called as HPAI and low pathogenic avian influenza which is also called as LPAI. See in this LPAI is a natural infection of water fowl that may cause minimal impacts or no sign of disease in domestic poultry and wild birds. So LPAI is not a serious threat. On the other hand HPAI is a serious one as it causes severe disease in domestic poultry and therefore is associated with their high death rate. But know that HPAI is rarely found in water fowl. Other than these classification there are also sub types of avian influenza viruses based on the two proteins that the virus have on their surfaces. These two proteins are hemagglutinin which is denoted by capital H and neuraminidase which is denoted by capital N. Overall there are 16 recognized H types and 9 N types identified in birds. These are known to occur in a number of different combinations as well. Remember among these different sub types H5 and H7 are known to include highly pathogenic viruses and particularly H5N1 is a cause for current concern. H5N1 causes disease in chickens and some of the species of birds. So have this basic understanding. So far I hope you could understand what is this bird flu which is also known as avian influenza and I hope you can understand what this code H3N8 actually means. H3N8 is nothing but a protein called hemagglutinin and N is nothing but a protein called neuraminidase. Overall there are 16 recognized H types and 9 N types and they can occur in a number of different combinations. So one such combination is H5N1. This combination is really a very dangerous one and the news mentions another strain H3N8. So now let us know how this virus is transmitted. See virus is shed in the saliva, nozzle secretions and feces of infected birds. So when birds come in contact with these or the surfaces contaminated with virus they get affected. As simple as that this means open air markets where eggs and birds are sold in crowded and unsanitary conditions can spread the disease. Now let us see how the virus impacts the birds. See this infection affects multiple internal organs mainly the intestines and the respiratory track of the birds. Some of these viruses even kill certain domesticated bird species such as chickens, ducks and turkeys. For example H5N1 which we just saw has a mortality rate of 90 to 100 percentage. So now a question occurs here can humans get affected with AI virus? See actually AI viruses do not normally infect humans however occasionally human infections have occurred. For example H5N1 can be transmitted to humans. It happens only when humans come into close contact with infected birds that means people having job related or recreational exposure to birds can be affected. But if humans get it then it causes rapid deterioration and high fatality. H5N1 has caused the largest number of reported cases of severe disease and death in humans. The only relief here is so far the virus has not been shown to spread from person to person. Well is there any treatment available? See actually for humans treatment with flu antiviral drugs is suggested as soon as symptoms begin. It could include medicines such as osaltarmivir or tamiflu or xenamivir relenza. But remember there is no bird flu vaccine. So to conclude in rare cases it can affect humans and the news is one such rare case. It says that one human case of H3N8 virus has been detected. See as I already said AI circulates in different animal species. This H3N8 routinely circulates and can cause illness in horses and it is called equine influenza A virus. Equine means horse. As per the news the infection was caused due to the contact with chickens and crows. So it is advisable to steer clear of birds and poultry at this moment. So that's all you have to know about bird flu. In this news article discussion we saw in detail about bird flu we saw about its causes and we also saw some of the information about H3N8 virus strains. So these learn points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now for our final news article discussion let us take up this article. The news article mentions that a mehalith burial cluster has been excavated in Karnataka. First let us understand what is mehalith burial cluster then we'll see the news. See first of all understand this mehal means large, lithic means stone. Therefore mehalith means a built of large stone and a mehalith site means a site having large stone structures. See generally these mehaliths are huge undressed stones. These structures often throw light on building activities and way of living in the past. The one you see in this image is mehalith. In the past these mehaliths or big stone boulders were carefully arranged by people and mostly they were used to mark burial sites. So such mehalith is a grave or memorial stone. So mehaliths can be seen on the surface other mehalith burials or often underground. Sometimes archaeologists they find a circle of stone boulders or a single large stone standing on the ground. These are the only indications that there are burials beneath. Actually there are various mehalith types let me explain about them one by one. First is the stone circles. It refers to standing stones arranged in a circle or in the form of an eclipse or more rarely a setting of four stones laid on an arc of a circle. Like you can see in the image given here. Secondly dolmens. This is a type of mehalith which is a rectangular box like chamber. It is constructed with four slabs and fifth slab is used as a capstone. And third type is cyst burials. See cyst is shaped like a coffin. So it was used as encasements for dead bodies. Then comes the pit burials. It is a sepulchral mehalith that is it contains the mortal remains of one or more human beings. These are unlined excavations where the remains are buried with a variety of surface markers like kens or boulders circles etc. A cane is a human made pile of stones often in conical form like you can see in the image. And finally menhair. Menhair means single long stones placed upright. See know that often these burials have some common features in India. Generally the dead people are buried with distinctive pots tools and weapons of iron skeleton of horses, horse equipment and ornaments of stone and gold etc. Also know that the monolithic culture has no regional bounds. So it could be found in Europe, Africa and in Asia. Particularly in India it was abundant in our culture. According to NCRT the practice of placing mehaliths began about 3000 years ago. This practice was prevalent throughout the Decon, South India, in the northeast and in Kashmir. Some important mehalithic sites are Adichyanallur in Tamil Nadu and Brahmagiri in Karnataka. So make note of these points very important. Now coming to some of the important points mentioned in the news article. See the news mentions about a burial cluster excavated in Karnataka. It has been excavated at Budipadaga in Hanoor Taluk. It is near Kollegal in Chamarajanagar district. This site adjoins the Bilikiri Ranganadaswamy temple tiger reserve and Malay Mahadeshwara Hills wildlife sanctuary. There are three burial sites of different sizes at the cluster. They are in the form of crane circles or stone circle with bowlers. The largest mehalith at the site is 9 meters in diameter. One of the important features is this site is close to an ancient human habitation found in Budipadaga. This human habitation belonged to the iron age. Broken fragments of pottery and animal bones were found at this site. So Budipadaga site is a rare finding where both human habitation and burial clusters are in close proximity. Such a finding indicates continuity of a culture that existed since prehistoric times in the region. So these are all some of the important points that you have to make note of. So with these learnt points now let us move on to the next part of the news article discussion which is nothing but the preliminary practice questions. Now look at this first question. This question is about value added tax. You have to find which one of the following is not a feature of value added tax. Option A it is a multi-point destination based system of taxation. Option B it is a tax levied on value addition at each stage of transaction in the production distribution chain. Option C it is a tax on the final consumption of goods or services and must ultimately be borne by the consumer. Option D it is basically subject of the central government and the state governments or only a facilitator for its successful implementation. See we saw statement B and C during our discussion itself. Now coming to statement D it says VAT is a union subject. It is incorrect because VAT or sales tax is a state subject. VAT being a tax on sale or purchase of goods within a state is a state subject by virtue of entry 54 of state list of the 7th schedule of the constitution of India. Hence the central government has been playing the role of the facilitator for successful implementation of VAT and not the other way around. That means correct answer is option D. Option A is also correct here. It is a multi-point destination based system of taxation. So the correct answer for the question is option D. Now moving on to the second question. This question is about mehalids. Consider the following statements. Statement 1. Doll men and men hairs or mehalitic structures. Statement 2. All the mehalids or sepulchral in nature. Statement 3. Adichyanallur in Tamil Nadu and Pramagiri in Karnataka or important mehalitic sites of India. Which of the statements given above is or are correct. Option A 1 only, Option B 1 and 2 only, Option C 2 only and Option D 1 and 3 only. See statement 1 is correct. Doll men and men hairs or mehalids. Statement 2 is incorrect. See sepulchral means a small room or monument that is cut in rock or built of stone in which a dead person is laid or buried. So it actually contains the mortal remains of one or more human beings. All the mehalids that is not contained dead persons have this basic idea. They may be placed to denote a burial site as a marker. But they themselves does not contain mortal remains. And this is not the case always. Doll men and men hairs or examples of this. Doll men is an open structure and men hairs is single large stone. So the correct answer here is option D 1 and 3 only. Third statement is also correct. We saw in the discussion itself right. So here statement 2 is alone incorrect. And the correct answer for the question is option D 1 and 3 only. Now let us move on to the third question. This question is about avian influenza. Which of the following statements is correct with reference to avian influenza? Option A they are classified into subtypes based on the virus proteins hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. Option B they do not infect humans or animals. Option C naturally spreads and affects multiple internal organs of birds. And option D both A and C. See the correct answer for the question is option D both A and C. See option B is incorrect because avian influenza it actually affects humans and animals like swine, horse, dogs etc. So the correct answer for the question is option D both A and C. The main question for the day is displayed here on the screen. Just go through the question, collect the points relevant to the question, write an answer and post it in the comment section below. So with this we came to the end of the news article discussion. If you like today's discussion hit like, do comment and subscribe to Shankarai's Academy YouTube channel. Thank you.