 Greetings, aspirants! First of all, I wish you all a very prosperous and happy new year and my best wishes for your UPS exam preparation. Now, with this happy note, let's move on to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankarae's Academy. Today I'm going to cover 8 different news articles from the Hindu newspaper dated 5th January 2023. And displayed here are the list of news articles that we are going to discuss today. You can go through it. Now, let's get into the first news article discussion. Now, have a look at this news article here. It is about the bird survey conducted at the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala. As per the news article, the survey identified 141 species of which 17 are new. Brown Wood Owl, Banded Bay Cuckoo, Malabar Wood Shrike, White Throated Kingfisher, Indian Night Jar, Jungle Night Jar and Large Cuckoo Shrike are among the 7 species newly identified in the Silent Valley National Park. Know that the first bird survey in the valley was held in the year 1990. And this is the crux of the news article given here. Now, in this context, let us see some important facts about Silent Valley National Park. First of all, let's see where it is located. Silent Valley National Park is situated in Palakkar district of Kerala. And it was established as a National Park in the year 1984. It is considered to be the core of the Nilgiri Biosperia. Let me give you an additional fact about the Nilgiri Biosperia. See, the Nilgiri Biosperia was the first Biosperia in India which was established in the year 1986. It is located in the western Ghats and it is spread across 3 states. That is Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. And the protected areas within the reserve include Mudhumalli Wildlife Sanctuary, Wynod Wildlife Sanctuary, Bandipur National Park, Nagarhol National Park, Mukkuduti National Park and finally Silent Valley National Park. This is about Nilgiri Biosperia. Now, coming back to Silent Valley, know that Silent Valley is close on all sides with high and continuous ridges and steep escarpments. As a result of this, the valley is protected from the extremes of climate as well as anthropogenic interventions. And know that River Kundi feeds the forests of Silent Valley National Park. See, an interesting fact about the National Park is that it is called as Sairandari Vanam. Sairandari is the secret name of Panjali during the exile period in Mahabharata. It is believed that she has hidden here along with her five husbands. That is Pandavas while escaping from their cruel cousins, the Gauravas. This is about the Silent Valley National Park. Now, let's see about the climate prevalent in the National Park. See, the climate prevalent in the National Park is tropical. The summer rains constitute a large part of the precipitation that the National Park receives. And annual average rainfall is ranging from 2717 to 4543 mm. Now, moving on to the flora and fauna of the National Park. The Silent Valley is virtually a botanist and zoologist's treasure. Silent Valley Reserve Forest can be classified under four forest types. They are firstly, West Coast Tropical Evergreen Forest, which is present at the elevation of 600 to 1,000 m. Secondly, Southern Subtropical Broadleaved Hill Forest, and this is present at the elevation of 1,300 to 1,800 m. Thirdly, Southern Montaigne Wet Temporate Forest, which is present at the elevation of about 1,900 m. And finally, Grassland. And in these four types of forests, there are a hundred of flora and fauna available. The flora of the valley include about 1,000 species of flowering plants, then 107 species of orchids, 100 ferns and fern allies, 200 river wards, 75 lichens and about 200 algae. See, the National Park is rich in faunal diversity and it consists of 34 species of mammals, 292 species of birds, 31 species of reptiles, 22 species of amphibians, 13 species of fishers, 500 species of butterflies and moths. The most famous resident of the park is Lion-tailed macaque. And among the multitude of species found in the National Park, many are endemic species. I have given here the endemic bird species. Just go through it. I have also given here the list of flora and fauna that can be found in the Silent Valley National Park. Just go through this list also. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw about Silent Valley National Park. Then we saw in brief about Neelgrie biosphere reserve. Then we saw about the climate prevalent in the National Park. And finally, flora and fauna in the National Park. See, this topic is very much important for your prelims exam. So, make note of each and every points that we discussed. Now, with these key points in mind, let's move on to the next news article discussion. Have a look at this news article. As you can see from the title, this news article is about the National Green Hydrogen Mission. If you can remember, this National Green Hydrogen Mission was first announced by our Prime Minister as a part of his 2021 Independence Day speech. According to the news article, the Union Cabinet approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission yesterday. The Cabinet has allocated Rs 19,744 crore as an initial outlay for this mission. The government is expecting to achieve two things from the mission. Firstly, the government believes that by implementing the mission, it can cut down 50 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually by 2030. Secondly, the government is of the opinion that by implementing this mission, it can save Rs 1 lakh crore annually by cutting down India's fossil fuel imports. So, this mission is both environmentally and economically sound. This is about the news article. Now, in this discussion, we will see about green hydrogen and about the National Green Hydrogen Mission in detail. You all must have heard about the statement, hydrogen is a clean fuel. Why is hydrogen called a clean fuel? This is because hydrogen and combustion releases only steam or water vapor as a byproduct. Now, look at this reaction. The two hydrogen atoms react with one oxygen atom and the resultant of this combustion process is two water molecules. This is how hydrogen combustion takes place. It is due to this only hydrogen is considered as a clean fuel. The thing is that elemental hydrogen rarely occurs naturally on earth. This is because hydrogen is very light and it is very reactive. So, we have to produce hydrogen artificially. See, based on the mode of production of hydrogen, the hydrogen is color coded. The first is grey hydrogen. See, the grey hydrogen is produced from natural gas. Here, the prefix grey is added because in this production method, greenhouse gas are emitted. Then secondly, blue hydrogen. See, it is called blue hydrogen when the carbon emission associated with hydrogen is captured and stored. Know that blue hydrogen is cleaner than grey hydrogen. And the last one is the green hydrogen. See, it is the cleanest. This is because this hydrogen is produced using energy generated from renewable sources like wind and solar. So, in the case of green hydrogen, in both the hydrogen production stage and in the hydrogen consumption stage, there is zero emission. This is why many countries are trying to add green hydrogen as part of their energy mix. See, India for its contribution to the green energy, it has adopted the national green hydrogen mission. And this is to become the global production hub for green hydrogen. Now, with this introduction, let's get into the national green hydrogen mission. See, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will be responsible for overall coordination and implementation of the national green hydrogen mission. Through this mission, the government is planning to generate rupees 8 lakh crore investments and create over 6 lakh jobs by 2030. Now, what are the objectives of the mission? The first objective is, through this mission, the government aims to produce 5 million metric tons of green hydrogen per annum by 2030. This is not a very easy task because hydrogen is produced by a process called electrolysis. In this process, the water molecules are split into hydrogen and oxygen by the application of electric current. This electric current used in the electrolysis must come from renewable energy so that the hydrogen produced gets the term green hydrogen. So, to produce 5 million metric tons of green hydrogen per annum, India needs additional renewable energy production to the tune of 125 gigawatts. This is the first objective. Then the second objective is to ensure the availability of electrolysis. Know that electrolysis are devices where the electrolysis process takes place and hydrogen is produced. Currently, India's domestic demand for electrolysis is met through imports. So, here the government plans to initiate domestic manufacture of electrolysis. Then third objective is the utilization of green hydrogen. Hydrogen is used in various industries like oil refineries, ammonia production, metallic ore reduction and fertilizer production. Through this mission, these industries will be mandated to use green hydrogen. Then in the transportation sector, hydrogen fuel cells are used. The hydrogen fuel cell technology is only in a nascent stage in India. Through this mission, the government also plans to mandate the adoption of hydrogen fuel cells. Then the last objective is export. By becoming the global production of green hydrogen, the government plans to export green hydrogen from India. So, India is planning to transition from a net energy importer to a net energy exporter. See, these are all objectives of the national green hydrogen mission. To achieve these objectives, the government has announced some steps that it is planning to take. The first one is site program. Here site expands to strategic interventions for green hydrogen transition. The government has allocated rupees 17,490 crore for this program. It plans to achieve two things. The first one is to augment domestic manufacturing of electrolyzers. And the second one is to ensure the domestic production of hydrogen. So, through this program, the government is planning to achieve objective one and objective two of national green hydrogen mission. As part of the site program, the government is planning to provide financial incentives for the producers of electrolyzers and green hydrogen. Also to ensure logical production, certain areas are to be developed as green hydrogen hubs. This is about the first step. Then the second step is ship or the strategic hydrogen innovation partnership. See, this is to facilitate research and development in green hydrogen technology. And this is through public-private partnership. The government has allocated rupees 400 crore for this initiative. And the next step is that the government has allocated rupees 1466 crore for pilot projects. The pilot projects will focus on two things. The first is in the production of green hydrogen. Then the second is in the end-use sector like transportation, oil refineries and fertilizer sector. So, through this, the government plans to achieve objective three of the mission. And the fourth step is the government also plans to develop standards and regulations framework for quicker adoption of green hydrogen. And finally, the government is focusing on skill development programs. This is to create a skilled workforce for hydrogen sector as a whole. See, if these steps are properly implemented, the government will achieve its objectives. But for efficient implementation, focused and coordinated steps must be taken by all the concerned ministries, departments, agencies and institutions of the central and state governments. See, these are some points you have to know about the National Green Hydrogen Mission and the recent announcement made in this regard by the government. And that's all regarding this discussion and this discussion we saw about why hydrogen is called a clean fuel. Then we also saw about three types of hydrogen. That is blue hydrogen, grey hydrogen and green hydrogen. Then we moved on to see about the National Green Hydrogen Mission. Then we also saw about the objective of the mission. And finally, we saw some facts regarding the steps that is going to be taken by the government. See, this topic is very important in the point of both problems and means. So, make note of each and every points that we discussed. With these key points in mind, let's move on to the next news article discussion. See this article here. This article deals with one of the pernicious violence against women. It is none other than acid attack. Often, we are hearing news about this violence. Even this news article mentions one such incident that happened in Assam. Here, the victim was attacked by her former teacher. The most infuriating thing is the preparator was released after three months. Why this has happened? Does Indian legislation provide for this? What are the satisfactory remedies available for the acid attack victims? We will understand all this in this discussion. We will see how India deals with this and how prevalent is this crime in our country. Before getting into discussion, the syllabus relevant to this topic is given here. You can go through it. Acid attacks. It is a gender specific crime, especially against women in India. This does not mean it cannot be committed against men. But most often, young women are the victim of this crime. And often, the preparator or attacker is a male. See, this crime is not specific to India. Several Asian and African countries face the same issue. So, what is it when acid or other corrosive substance are thrown on women or administered to them causing immeasurable consequences? It is called acid attack. The reason for this crime is stated as that, firstly, the rejection of the marriage proposal or sexual advances. This is one of the major reasons. Secondly, sometimes it is also a result of conflicts related to dowry. Thirdly, it is even a means to take revenge. Fourthly, in some countries, it is done as a form of domestic violence also. Fifthly, family or land disputes or disputes over inheritance and other property issues are also reasons cited for this crime. And occasionally, acid attacks may occur due to social or political or religious beliefs also. Whatever may be the reason, it is a cruel crime, right? Now, let me tell you how heinous this crime is. See, in many cases, it results in the death of the victims. Unfortunately, it also leads to physical damage, especially disfiguring of the face or the body. The physical damage is often the main aim of the attacker because the attacker cannot withstand the rejection and wants to destroy the body of the woman. So, by this, the attacker not only attacks the self-esteem but also wants to shrink her personality. Such a cruel thought, don't you think? Because the disfiguring cannot be reversed. It is lifelong. Mostly, this physical damage causes physical challenges requiring lifelong treatment, which monetarily affects the victims. You should also remember that this dismemberment of the face or body causes permanent psychological damage to the victim. So, rehabilitation of the victims also becomes an issue. Then, the societal prejudice further victimizes these acid-attack victims which slowly erodes their self-confidence. Above all, it also affects the employability of the victims. But this can be changed when there is awareness among the public. Other than this, there are some structural problems associated with this crime. First is the availability of acid over the counter. Easy accessibility to the means makes the crime easier to commit. Second is the lack of medical facilities available for acid victims. There are only limited number of specialized bone hospitals. Third, some hospitals refuse to admit acid-attack victims. With these basics, let me tell you how prevalent is this crime in our country. See, acid-attacks are reported in many parts of the world. But in India, it has been on the rise. We have data for this with the National Crime Records Bureau. As per the Crime in India report of National Crime Records Bureau, the number of acid-attack incidents reported in 2011 were 83, then 85 in 2011 and 66 in 2013. But in the recent years, it has increased to 2 49 cases in 2019, then 182 cases in 2020 and 176 cases in 2021. These are just the reported ones. Unfortunately, many cases go unreported. This scenario could be seen in the rural areas. Why they don't report? It is due to the fear of backlash and further attacks from the preparators. So, this is another issue. Apart from this, the cases are dealt in a slow pace. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, a total of 161 cases are pending investigation in 2021 and only 97 cases have been chart-sheeted and about 585 cases were pending in courts, leading to 97.5 pendency of acid-attack cases. So, this again increases the plight of the victims as the attacker roams free. Considering the nature of the crime, do you think the government has taken any measures to penalize the crime? Yes, the Indian Penal Code was amended in this regard. The amendment was recommended by Justice Verma Committee. The committee was set up after the nearby incident of December 2012. The committee was constituted to recommend amendments to the criminal law, especially for offenses of sexual assault against women. So, it recommended for penalizing acid attacks and providing compensation to the victims. Based on this, the IPC was amended by the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013. The amendment inserted section 326A and 326B into the IPC. Section 326A deals with voluntarily causing grievous hurt by the acid, etc. As per this section, causing grievous hurt by using acid is punishable with imprisonment of minimum 10 years, which may extend to life imprisonment along with fine. Here the term grievous hurt would include any bodily damage or deformity or burns or maims or disfigurement or disablement. The lawdouble factor is the fine will be as much as needed for meeting the medical expenses of the victim's treatment and hence such a fine collected will be paid to the victim directly. Similarly, section 326B deals with voluntarily throwing or attempting to throw acid. This means the attacker need not cause grievous hurt, but even throwing acid with the intention of causing grievous hurt is punishable. The punishment is imprisonment of 5 to 7 years with fine. Apart from this, an order was issued in 2015 by the central government for ensuring proper treatment after care and rehabilitation of the victims. The order directed the state governments and union territories to ensure that private hospitals do not refuse treatment to victims and also that full treatment is provided to such victims include medicines, food, bedding and reconstructive surgeries. Even the judiciary did not stay quiet. The important case law here is Lakshmi v. S. Union of India 2013 case. Here the supreme court completely prohibited the over the counter sale of acid. But if it is sold even then the seller was mandated to maintain a log or register recording the sale and mentioning the details of the purchaser. It was also directed not to sell acid to any person below 18 years of age. Most importantly, supreme court directed that the acid attack victims shall be paid compensation of at least rupees 3 lakhs by the concerned state government or union territory. This will be the after care and rehabilitation cost. Plus, the supreme court was also directed to provide 1 lakh out of the 3 lakhs within 15 days of the occurrence of such incident. The 1 lakh is to facilitate immediate medical expenses. Here note that for enforcing the above order as it is the Ministry of Home Affairs issued an advisory to all states under the model Poisons, Positions and Sales Rules 2013 which comes under the Poison Act 1919. Another important case law is Parivartan Kendra and ANR v. S. Union of India 2015. In this case law, the supreme court observed that the state and union territory concerned can give even more amount of compensation than rupees 3 lakhs. It also asked them to consider including the name of such victims under the disability list. In addition to these measures, the NAL saw legal services to victims of acid attack scheme 2016 was launched. Its objectives are given here. The ultimate objective is to ensure that the victims are appropriately rehabilitated in the society and live a life of dignity. The compensation of 3 lakhs directed in Lakshmi cases provided under the scheme only. Additionally, the victims are also entitled to additional compensation of rupees 1 lakh under the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund. Then they are entitled to additional special financial assistance up to rupees 5 lakhs. This is for those who need treatment expenses over and above the compensation paid by the respective state and union territories. It is provided under the terms of Central Victim Compensation Fund Guidelines 2016. You may think, even after these many measures why the plight of acid attack victims does not end? This is mainly because the implementation of the regulations is not very strict. Acid is still acel available in many places. So what is the need of ours? Proper implementation of regulations and orders and also bringing in a separate legislation for dealing with acid attack crime. I am providing this suggestion based on successful legislations of Bangladesh which have reduced the incidence of acid attacks. The legislations are the Bangladesh Acid Control Act 2002 and the 1st and 2nd Acid Crime Permission Act 2002. They restrict the important sale of acid in open markets. Even though India has issued advisory in this regard a proper legislative action is required. Remember, light to life and liberty is fundamental right of every citizen of our country under article 21. This also includes the right to live with dignity which applies to victims of acid attacks also. So a strong political will is needed to address the issues with this crime along with public awareness. So that the public are sensitive towards the victims. And that's all regarding this discussion. This discussion we saw about acid attack, then the reason for the crime and we will also see about the heinous nature of this crime. Then we moved on to see about the structural problems associated with acid attacks. Then we saw about how prevalent is acid attacks in our country. Then we also saw about some government measures. Then we saw about two case laws which directed the governments to take actions. And finally we saw some issues with the implementation of regulations by the government. Now with these key points in mind, let's move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this editorial article as the title itself signals this news article talks about the values of local self-government. Now it is in use because of two reasons. Firstly, in December 1992 the parliament passed the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments which instituted panjayats and municipalities respectively. And it has been in effect for 30 years. So, this is the first reason that is to celebrate the 30th anniversary of these reforms. Then the second reason is that the Parna High Court recently declared some of the provisions of the Bihar Municipal Amendment Act 2021 as unconstitutional. See these are the two reasons the local self-government made news today. Now we shall discuss the details of these two reasons in detail in this discussion. Before that the syllabus relevant to this topic is given here. You can go through it. Now first let's start with the significance of local self-government. When I say local self-government it means the management of local affairs by the natives of that area or their representatives. And this is where the roles of panjayatiraj and municipalities comes into play. The term panjayatiraj in India signifies the system of rural local self-government. And the term municipality signifies the system of urban local self-government. Now talking about the evolution of local self-government see the Balwantrai Meghatha Committee which was set up in 1957 recommended the establishment of the scheme of democratic decentralization. The recommendations of the committee were accepted by the National Development Council in January 1958 and know that Rajasthan was the first state to establish panjayatiraj institutions. The scheme was inaugurated by the then prime minister on October 2, 1959 in Nagur district. Likewise, most of the states adopted the system. But the issue here is the National Development Council said that except the basic principles and broad fundamentals it left it up to the states to develop their own patterns that are appropriate for local conditions. Even though most of the states created panjayatiraj institutions by mid 1960s there were differences from one state to another with regard to the number of tyres relative position of Samithi and Parishad and their tenure, composition, functions, finances and so on. Some states even established Nyaya panjayats that is judicial panjayats to try petty civil and criminal cases. After so many committee recommendations finally the P. V. Narasimharas government passed the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act in 1992. 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 gave constitutional status to the panjayatiraj institutions. This act brought panjayatiraj institutions under the proof of justiciable part of the constitution. In other words, the state governments are under constitutional obligation to adopt the new panjayatiraj system in accordance with the provisions of the act. Consequently neither the formation of panjayats nor the holding of elections at regular intervals depend on the will of the state government anymore. Similar conditions were made mandatory for the municipalities under the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act added a new part that is part 9 to the Constitution of India and it gave a practical shape to article 40 of the constitution. This article forms a part of the directive principles of state policy. The article says that the state takes steps to organize village panjayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government. So, does that mean the state do not have any say in this matter? Really not. See, the act can be grouped into two categories that is compulsory and voluntary. The compulsory or mandatory provisions of the act have to be included in the state laws creating the new panjayatiraj system. The voluntary provisions on the other hand can be included at the discretion of the states. So, we can say that it simply transferred the representative democracy into participated democracy. Likewise, the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act added a new part that is part 9A to the Constitution of India. The act aims at revitalizing and strengthening the urban governments so that they function effectively as units of local government. So far, we see about the evolution of panjayatiraj and municipalities. Now, let us understand how they work in real time. Under the act, the panjayatiraj works in three-tier structure. Meaning, it has three layers. That is village level, block level and district level. It also means that the act brought about uniformity in the structure of panjayatiraj throughout the country. However, a state having a population not exceeding 20 lakhs may not constitute panjayats at the intermediate level. Now, talking about the three types of panjayatiraj at the village level under the act two bodies have been set up at the village level. That is Gram Sabha and Gram Panjayat. Gram Sabha is the center of local self-government at the village level. It comprised all the registered voters in the panjayat area. The Gram Sabha then elects their president that is Gram Pradhan. Then coming to Gram Panjayat, Gram Panjayat is the executive wing of Gram Sabha that makes sure all the objectives of the Sabha should be realized. Then coming to the block level, the block or intermediate level, governance is looked after by the panjayat sambhati. Panjayat sambhati is an intermediate body that coordinates all the activities and businesses of village panjayats. And finally, at the district level, the apex body that governs the district level is called Zilla Parishat. This coordinates the activities of various panjayat sambhates. And this is all about three types of panjayatiraj. Not only that, the act also provides for the constitution of three types of activities in every state. Firstly, an agar panjayat for a transitional area. Here a transitional area means an area which is in transition from a rural area to an urban area. Secondly, a municipal council. It is for smaller urban area. And finally, a municipal corporation. And this is for larger urban area. And know that there are eight types of urban local bodies. And they are displayed here. You can go through it. I hope now you understood how the panjayatiraj and municipal activities works. The only difference between the panjayatiraj and the municipal is that the panjayatiraj is a process through which people participate in their own governance at the village level. Whereas the municipal is an urban local government that works to develop a city. Now with this basic understanding, let us move on to see the news article. See the article also mentions the normative basis of local self-governance. Firstly, since government with smaller jurisdictions can provide services as per reference of their residents, the local self-government provides for efficient provision of public goods. Secondly, the local self-governments that are closer to the people allow citizens to engage with public affairs more easily and it promotes deeper democracy. See India's decentralization agenda is also driven by these values. But the issue here is that despite all such constitutional promises, they are still weak. One of the reasons for such a situation is that inherent limitations of the 74th Amendment. Such limitations include discretion given to the states regarding devolution of powers and living of local taxes. Since cities are economic powerhouses, some state governments are reluctant to implement the 74th Amendment that is to constitute municipalities. They believe that control of urban land is important to fund state governments and political parties. The courts have also mostly interpreted the 74th Amendment narrowly, allowing state governments to retain their control over cities. Among such issues, the partner High Court's recent order which declared some provisions of the Vihar Municipal Amendment Act 2021 as unconstitutional is path breaking. The 2021 amendment had transferred the powers of appointment of grade C and D employees of municipalities from the empowered standing committee of the municipality to the state government controlled direct rate of municipal administration. Since the provisions re-centralize power and weaken self-governance, the court held that these provisions are violative of 74th Amendment. So to conclude, the author says that instead of thinking about re-centralization of government, the state governments must think about how power should be divided and shared among the local self-governance. Since local governments are normatively and structurally an integral part of the constitution's federal framework, such a mandate is inevitable. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw about 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, then the evolution of Panjaitaraj institutions in India, then we also saw about the tires of Panjaitaraj institutions and municipalities, and finally we saw some points mentioned in the news article. Now with these key points in mind, let's move on to the next news article discussion. See this article here. It is about the Purchasing Managers Index. The article says that India's service sector reported a sharp growth in new business led by finance and insurance services in December 2022. This is the crux of the news article given here. Now in this context let us learn about Purchasing Managers Index and some of the important points mentioned in the news article. From exam perspective, you should know certain facts about Purchasing Managers Index. Here we call the Purchasing Managers Index shortly as PMI. Firstly you should know that PMI is compiled and released by S&P Globals. Secondly, it is an indicator of business activity that is both in the manufacturing and service sectors. Thirdly the scores of the PMI decides whether an economy is expanding or contracting. This is about PMI. Now let us see the important facts mentioned in the article. See as per the article, India services PMI, India manufacturing PMI and India Composite PMI output index increased in December. Now you may wonder how many PMI's are there? See India services business activity PMI gives you details about the service sector of India. So as per the services PMI, it is found that there is an improvement in the health of the Indian service sector. Know that the India services PMI rose from 56.4 in November to 58.5 in December. And this highlights the strongest rate of expansion since mid 2022. And the reason cited for the expansion in service sector is increase in the index of new work and favorable market conditions. Now coming to India manufacturing PMI output index, as you can guess this index gives details about the manufacturing sector in India. As you can see, manufacturing sector also showed improvement in December month. Now finally let see about the S&P Global India composite PMI output index. See the composite PMI indices or weighted averages of comparable manufacturing and services PMI indices. Here the weights reflect the relative size of the manufacturing and service sectors according to official GDP data. And as per the index, composite index has increased from 56.7 in November to 59.4 in December. This is the quickest rate of growth since January 2012. See these are the points mentioned in the article. I have given here in this table the previous and the last course of manufacturing, services and composite PMI index for India just to go through it. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw about purchasing managers index which is released by S&P Globals. Then we also saw some facts regarding services PMI, manufacturing PMI and the composite PMI. See you may think how this topic is relevant for our exam. See you can quote these points while writing your main censor. This will definitely enrich your main censor. So with these key points in mind, now let's move on to the next news article discussion. Have you looked at this news article? The news is that the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission two days back announced that the power plants that rely on imported coal should be fully compensated if they were forced to supply electricity. Let's not get deeper into the issue. Here what is important for the examination is the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. Now let's learn about the commission. See for the purpose of bringing reform in the electricity sector nationwide, the central government enacted the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act in July 1998. That mandated two things. The first one is to constitute the Central Electricity Regulation Commission. Its purpose is to regulate the tariff of power generating companies owned or controlled by the central government, as well as other companies engaged in power generation along with interstate energy transmission. Then the second mandate of the act is to establish the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. They set tariffs for states without requiring any separate laws. Since the legislation governing has been replaced by the Electricity Act 2003, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and the State Electricity Regulatory Commission are now governed as per the Electricity Act of 2003. Now in this discussion we will see about the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. We shortly call this as CERC. As I said earlier, CERC is a statutory body constituted in 1998. The commission is now guided by Section 76 of the Electricity Act 2003. Apart from rationalization of electricity tariffs, they take care of formulation of current policies regarding subsidies, then promotion of efficient and environmentally sound policies and for matters connected to electricity tariff regulation. CERC functions with quasi-judicial status under the Electricity Act 2003. Some of the other functions of the commission is given here for a reference. You can go through it. Now let's conclude this discussion by looking at the members of the commission and their qualifications. See as per Section 76, class 5 of the Electricity Act 2003, the Central Electricity Regulation Commission shall comprise a chairperson and three other members. Know that all of them will be appointed by the central government on the recommendations of the selection committee. Now talking about their tenure, the members and the chairperson shall hold the office for five years or till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. Now talking about qualifications, the qualification for the chairperson and members of CERC are mentioned in Section 77 of the Electricity Act 2003. In that way, the person who is or has been a Supreme Court judge or the Chief Justice of any High Court shall be appointed as the chairperson of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. Now talking about the qualification of members, one person shall be appointed who is having qualifications and experience in the field of finance. Then the another person will be appointed who is having qualifications and experience in the field of engineering. And finally, the two persons shall be appointed who is having qualifications and experience in the field of law, economics, commerce and management. Further, there is a commission staff which assists the members of CERC in a certain manner. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw about the Central Electricity Regulation Commission, then some of its functions and we finally saw about the composition of the commission. Now with these points in mind, let's move on to the next news article discussion. Now for our next discussion, let us take this article from the business page. It says that volume of complaints received under the ombudsman schemes during 2021 to 2022 increased by 9.39% It is found that issues related to ATMA debit cards and mobile or electronic banking were the top grounds of complaints. As per the news article, number of complaints stood at 4,18,184. Out of these 3,400,496 complaints were handled by the offices of RBI ombudsman. This is about the news article given here. Now in this discussion, we are going to see about ombudsman scheme of RBI. First of all, let's understand the term ombudsman. In simple words, an ombudsman is a person appointed by an organization or government or enterprises. His sole purpose is to investigate the complaints against the organization. By doing this, he is addressing the grievances of the consumers. Now with this understanding, let us see the ombudsman scheme of RBI. The ombudsman scheme of RBI is called as the integrated ombudsman scheme 2021. Why is this? This is because the scheme integrates the existing 3 ombudsman schemes of RBI. The existing schemes are, firstly, the banking ombudsman scheme 2006. Then secondly, the ombudsman scheme for non-banking financial companies 2018. And finally, the ombudsman scheme for digital transactions 2019. In addition to integrating these 3 existing schemes, the 2021 scheme also includes the non-scheduled primary cooperative banks with a deposit size of Rs. 50 crore and above. Know that this integrated scheme was framed by RBI and it was launched in the year 2021. Also the scheme adopts one nation, one ombudsman approach by making the RBI ombudsman mechanism jurisdiction neutral. Now let us see some of the features of the scheme. Firstly, there is no need for complaint to identify under which scheme he or she should file complaint with the ombudsman. This is because of the integration of different schemes. Secondly, the scheme defines clean service as the ground for filing a complaint with a specified list of exclusions. Therefore, the complaints will not be rejected on account of not covered under the grounds listed in the scheme. Thirdly, the scheme provides for the establishment of a centralized receipt and processing center. This center is for the initial processing of physical and email complaints. Then the final feature is the appellate authority for the awards of ombudsman is the executive director in charge of consumer education and production department of RBI. That's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw about who is ombudsman, then we saw about the integrated ombudsman scheme of RBI and finally we ended our discussion by seeing some features of the integrated ombudsman scheme of RBI. Now with these key points in mind, let's move on to the next news article discussion. See this news article here. This news article is regarding the reserve forest issue in the state of Tamil Nadu. See Tamil Nadu government recently removed the ban on querying or mining within a 1 kilometer radius of reserve forests. Due to this, now various political parties, nongovernmental organizations and social organizations have written a letter to chief minister of Tamil Nadu to revoke the above order. This is about the news article given here. Now in this context let's learn about reserve forest, then about protector forest and finally we will see some differences between reserve forest and protector forest. Do you know what is reserve forest? Reserve forest means the forest declared to be reserved by the state government under section 20 of the Indian Forest Act 1927 or declared as reserve forest under any other state act. So if we take the Indian Forest Act, section 20 deals with the notifying a reserve forest. According to it, the state government has to specify definitely the limits of the forest which is to be reserved. But what kind of land or forest can be reserved? This is provided under section 3 of the Indian Forest Act 1927. According to it, any forest land or wasteland which is the property of government or which the government has proprietary rights can be declared as reserve forest. Even the forest land or wasteland from which the government is entitled to forest produce can be declared as reserve forest. But note that after deciding to declare a reserve forest, the state government has to appoint the forest settlement officer under section 4 class 1 sub-class 1 C. This officer will inquire into undetermined existence, nature and extent of any rights alleged to exist in favor of any person in the land to be declared reserved. Another important forest category under the act is Protector Forest. This one includes the forest land or wasteland having the same conditions as reserve forest but which is not included in a reserve forest. There are many differences especially in the acts permitted in a reserve forest and a Protector Forest. Now we will see some important differences. Firstly, the state government can make rules for the clearing and breaking up of land for cultivation or other purposes in Protector Forest. This means these activities that is clearing or breaking up any land for cultivation or any other purpose are allowed in Protector Forest. But the same is generally prohibited in reserve forest. Similarly, the state government can make rules for the cutting of grass and pasturing of cattle in Protector Forest. But trespassing or pasturing the cattle or permits cattle to trespass all are generally prohibited in reserve forest and punishable under the act. Note that an exemption is provided if these activities are approved by a forest settlement officer in reserve forest under the act then it can be carried out. In this regard you can understand that reserve forest in India enjoy considerably higher degree of security as compared to the Protector Forests. This is because of the importance of reserve forests. Now what are all the importance of reserve forests? Firstly these forests support a range of biodiversity. Secondly, the local communities rely on reserve forest in many ways. Also, the reserve forests that are rich in wildlife are also declared as sanctuaries, national parks, community reserves and conservation reserves. And that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion we saw about what is reserve forest then we saw about Protector Forest then we moved on to see about the differences between Protector Forest and reserve forest and finally we saw some importance of reserve forest. Now with these key points in mind let's move on to the next part of the news article discussion that is to discuss preliminary practice questions. Now look at this first question. This question was asked in 2019. I will read out the question which of the following are in Agastya Malabaya Spiruso. Here 4 options are given. We have to find which productive areas are falling in Agastya Malabaya Spiruso. Know that Agastya Malabaya Spiruso is located in the southernmost end of western gods. It incorporates peaks with height of 1868 meters above mean sea level. It covers 3500 km2 and encompasses tropical forest ecosystems that fall within the Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu and Tiruvunandamuram and Kullam districts of Kerala. The Agastya Malabaya Spiruso hosts one of the most diverse ecosystems in Peninsular India and constitutes an important biogeographical hotspot within the western gods. Three wildlife sanctuaries such as Shendurne, Pappara and Nayar are located in the Agastya Malabaya Spiruso as well as Kalakadumundandurai tiger reserve is also located in Agastya Malabaya Spiruso. Now coming to the options. Here option A is the correct answer. As we saw now, the Nayar, Pappara and Shendurne wildlife sanctuaries and Kalakadumundandurai tiger reserve are falling in Agastya Malabaya Spiruso. So the correct answer for the question is option A one only. See this question is exactly why we discussed about Neelgiri biospiruso in our discussion. We also saw what all the national parks and sanctuaries come under the Neelgiri biospiruso. So make note of such areas. If the question is put up regarding Neelgiri biospiruso, you can be able to understand that particular question. Now moving on, let's take up the second question. This question is regarding green hydrogen. Let's take up the first statement. Green hydrogen is produced with the help of electrolysis through electricity generated from renewable source of energy such as solar and wind. See this statement is correct. As we saw in the discussion, the green hydrogen is produced using green energy sources. So statement is correct. Now coming to the second statement, in this method electric current is used to split the water into hydrogen and oxygen. Yes this statement is also correct. See this statement explains about the electrolysis process. As we saw in the discussion, electrolysis process is used to produce green hydrogen. So this statement is also correct. Now coming to the third statement, in this process hydrogen gas is liberated at the anode and oxygen gas is liberated at the cathode. See this statement is incorrect because during the production of green hydrogen, hydrogen gas is actually liberated at the cathode and oxygen gas is liberated at the anode. This is because hydrogen ions being positively charged move towards the negatively charged cathode. On the other hand, the negatively charged oxygen moves towards the anode which is positively charged. So third statement is incorrect. Now the question is asking for correct statement. So the correct answer for the question is option A 1 and 2 only. Moving on, let's take up the third question. This question is regarding purchasing managers index. Look at this first statement. Purchasing manager index is calculated separately for the manufacturing and service sectors and then a composite index is also constructed. See this statement is correct as we saw in the discussion. Purchasing manager index is calculated separately for manufacturing and service sectors and there is also composite index. So statement 1 is correct. Now coming to the second statement, if the purchasing manager index the previous month is higher than the current month, then it means the economy is expanding. See this statement is incorrect. Now I will explain this with an example. Let us say the score of Jan month is 57.5 and the score of Feb month is 54.5. Here Jan is the previous month and Feb is the current month. Here the value has decreased from 57.5 to 54.5. So it means the economy has contracted. If the value is increased from 57.5 to 60, then only it means the expansion happened. So the second statement is incorrect. Now the question is asking for correct statements. So the card answer for the question is option A 1 only. Moving on let us take up the fourth question. See this question is regarding petroleum and natural gas regulatory board. Now why we are going to discuss this question? See now discussion we saw about central electricity regulatory functions right. So in the line now we are going to learn about petroleum and natural gas regulatory board. So pay attention. Now look at the first statement petroleum and natural gas regulatory board is the first regulatory body set up by government of India. This statement is incorrect because the petroleum and natural gas regulatory board was constituted under the petroleum and natural gas regulatory board act 2006. And know that the independent regulator, telecom regulatory authority of India that is Troy. It was set up under Troy act of 1997 and it was the first independent regulator in India and not the petroleum and natural gas regulatory board. So the statement one is incorrect. Now coming to the second statement one of the tasks of petroleum and natural gas regulatory board is to ensure competitive markets for gas. See this statement is correct. The board is tasked to protect the interests of consumers and entities engaged in specific activities related to petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas and they promote competitive markets and for matters connected therewith or incidental. So statement two is correct. Now coming to the third statement appeals against the decision of petroleum and natural gas regulatory board go before the appellate tribunals of electricity. See this statement is correct. The appellate tribunal established under section 110 of the Electricity Act 2003 shall be the appellate tribunal to appeal against the decisions of petroleum and natural gas regulatory board. So statement three is correct. Now the question is asking for correct statement. So the correct answer for the question is option B2 and 3 only. Now coming to the final question this question is regarding integrated reimbursement scheme of RBI 2021. Now look at this first statement the scheme provides cost-free letters of customer complaints against entities regulated by RBI only if the complaints are not resolved to the satisfaction of the customers or not replied within a period of 30 days by the regulator entity. See this statement is correct. See the complaint under the RBI scheme will be taken only when the complaint was rejected wholly or partly by the regulated entity and the complaint is not satisfied with the reply or the complaint has not received any reply within 30 days after the regulated entity received the complaint. So statement one is correct. Now coming to the second statement there shall be no right of appeal to the regulated entity in respect of the award issued on account of non-response or non-furnishing of information sought between the simulator team. See this statement is also correct as per the scheme there is no right of appeal to the regulated entity in respect of award issued so statement two is correct. Now the question is asking for correct statement so the answer for the question is option C both 1 and 2. This is the quiz question for you today I will pose this quiz question in the community section try to answer it and displayed here are the main questions for your practice go through the questions write your answers and post it in the comment section now with this we came to the end of the video if you liked our analysis please like comment and share and don't forget to subscribe to Shankara IS Academy YouTube channel thank you for listening