 Welcome to the Hindu news analysis by Shankar Ayesakarmi. The news articles along with the page numbers are displayed here for your reference. The PDF link of the handwritten notes and the timestamping of the news articles is given in the description box as well as in the comment section. Now let us start our today's news analysis. This news article is based on a fact sheet released by the convention on the conservation of migratory species which is also known as Bound Convention. We know that COP 13 of CMS is under way at Gandhinagar in Gujarat and we are seeing many news articles related to CMS in the recent days. So in this COP 13 of CMS, it has released fact sheets on the effects of climate change over certain animal species and also over certain landscapes. One such fact sheet which we are going to discuss now is Sundarbans and the Climate Change. In this context, let us see about Sundarbans and also the threats to Sundarbans. The syllabus relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. Let us see in brief about Sundarbans. The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest on the earth. It spread across India and Bangladesh and the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghana rivers flow through this mangrove system and create one of the world's largest delta. See large parts of Sundarbans are designated as Ramsar sites which are considered as wetlands of international importance. Also if you see the Indian side of Sundarbans which is an Inisco World Heritage site under natural category since 1987. In this context, know that mangroves are tropical plants which grow where the land meets the sea. They have special adaptations such as tolerance to salt and breathing roots. Sundarbans host a variety of animal species like the Bengal Tiger, then Ganges River Dolphin, Irrawaddy Dolphin and also many bird species including several migratory birds like the Spoonbilled Sandpiper. Also Sundarbans is home to many fishes including the migratory species like Hilsa fish. So you can see that this region is rich in biodiversity. Not just this, the Sundarbans is also home for around 40 lakh people who reside and benefit from ecosystem services that they provide. They engage mainly in agriculture for their livelihood. They also involve in fishing and also the collection of hood-dun honey-based products. The mangroves and their resources provide an important alternative source of livelihood for these people. Now let us see the threats due to climate change that is discussed in this fact sheet. See climate change is affecting Sundarbans in many ways. That is rising sea level is a significant threat to Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem. Then the next threat is the rise of saline water into areas of Sundarbans that are not tolerant to these conditions. See the rise of ocean levels which is pushing the saline water upstream into estuaries and rivers of Sundarbans is causing major threat to variety of species. Then the other threats include impact of tropical cyclones and intertidal mud flows into the Sundarbans ecosystem. It is expected that the intertidal mud flow or intertidal mudflats will have major impact on migratory and resident water birds on their natural habitat. These are certain threats that are mentioned in the fact sheet which is titled as Sundarbans and the climate change. Now we will see the consequences of these major threats to the Sundarbans. That is if you look at the average elevation of the Sundarbans which is lower than mean sea level. So all these factors can result in the decline of the total land area causing unpredictable damage to the environment and agricultural lands. All these can also lead to loss of biodiversity in this Sundarbans region. Now if there is decline in the total land area it may cause the people who are residing in this region to migrate from this place to other places. So they become environmental refugees and they will cause population pressure in the neighboring regions and also in nearby urban centers. So we can see that all these factors threaten the habitats of many plants and animal species and even the human existence especially in low elevation areas of Sundarbans. So this is how the climate change impacts the Sundarbans ecosystem. See climate specialists have predicted that as climate change progresses rainfall and drought patterns will be severe. So this will drastically affect the Sundarbans ecosystem in the long run. And it is uncertain whether the ecosystem then species and humans of the Sundarbans will be able to adapt to these changing and erratic conditions. So this fact sheet has suggested that long term coastal planning is need of the hour in order to overcome these threats to Sundarbans. So to conclude this news article we have seen about the Sundarbans and the major threats to the Sundarbans ecosystem and also the consequences of these threats to Sundarbans. Now have a look at the practice session which will be discussed at the end of the session. Now let us move on to the next news article analysis. This FAQ article is with reference to India-ES relations particularly in the context of trade. This article deals with where do India and ES stand in terms of trade cooperation then the article also discusses about various issues between India and ES. Then it also tends to answer that is there any hope for a positive announcement on trade in the two-day visit of ES president. Then it also deals with Indian priorities in the defense and the strategic spaces with respect to United States. The syllabus relevant for the analysis of this FAQ article is highlighted here for your reference. Now let us see where India and ES stand based on violated trade in goods and services. See the ES India violated trade in goods and services in 1999 was at 16 billion ES dollars. From there it has steadily grown to 142 billion ES dollars in 2019. Here you should know that ES is having trade deficit with India with respect to goods and services. And India is having a trade surplus of around 24 billion ES dollars. And this is actually one of the important concerns of ES foreign policy. So the art of ES foreign policy is to address the trade deficit that ES has with other countries including India. However, the author states that the value of trade deficit that ES has with India is not in top 10 category in this regard. If you see the trade deficit that ES has with China, it is more than 14 times than that of India. While the trade deficit with India is around 24 billion ES dollars and with China the value is about 346 billion ES dollars. This is one of the important reasons for the trade war between ES and China. When it comes to India-ES relations the author states that there has been conflicts and disagreements over tariffs in specific sectors. The article presents a chronology of India-ES trade squabbles or issues and the timeline begins with March 2018. See in March 2018 the ES administration slammed a 25% tariff on steel imports and about 10% tariff on aluminum imports. These tariffs were also slapped on Indian steel and aluminum exports and as a result India's steel export to ES decreased by about 49% in 2018. With respect to this meadow India formally invited a dispute at the World Trade Organization and meanwhile with effect from 5th June 2019, US ended an eligibility review of India as a beneficiary in the generalized system of preferences program of the ES. Now let us see why author has made this statement. This is because earlier that is on 12th April 2018 United States has launched eligibility review of India, Indonesia and Kazakhstan in its GSP program. This review ended with the termination of India as a beneficiary in the month of June 2019. See this termination is said to have impacted nearly 5.8 billion dollars of India's exports and this is the approximate total value of exported products that enjoyed GSP benefits. So for all these products India had been enjoying a duty concession of about 190 million US dollars every year because of GSP program. So in pursuance to the decision of ES, India imposed retaliatory tariffs on 28 ES products originating or exported from the ES with effect from 16th June 2019. Some of these products are almonds, walnuts, cashew, apples, chickpeas, wheat and so on. See the article states that about 83% of India's almond imports are met from the United States. Even India has issues with ES on the areas of dairy sector, then intellectual property rights protection, then about barriers to foreign direct investment and also in important trade sectors such as Harley, Davidson, motorcycles and medical devices. With respect to medical devices, ES has been persistently asking India not to put any price cap on medical devices that are imported from ES. It is also asking India to allow the manufacturers of these medical devices to fix the prices as per their wish. But we know that the government of India has imposed price cap with respect to cardiac stents and knee implants in 2017. So this is also another issue with reference to India-ES relations. Then the most recent complication in India-ES state relations is the recent announcement made by ES that India will be considered as a developed nation with respect to countervailing duty investigations. The ES government said that this announcement is applicable from 10th February 2020. Now let us see what happened in India after this announcement. That is on 11th February 2020, the government of India has announced that with effect from 1st April 2020, all medical devices are to be specified as drugs under Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940. As a result of this, experts in the medical field are saying that this will increase regulation on those companies that import and sell medical devices in the country. So because of all these issues, the author's overall opinion is that by and large, ES and India are stable trading partners to each other. But the trade cooperation has seen complications particularly in the recent ES. So this is about the recent issues between India and ES. Now let us see whether is there any hope for a positive enhancement or trade in upcoming US President's visit. The author states that only a mini-trade deal or a smaller trade package announcement is possible. This is mainly because of the issues that happen in the second week of February 2020. Here you can see the Indian priorities in defense and strategic sectors from United States. In the news article states that India will be procuring helicopters through foreign military sales route. See the FMS program or foreign military sales program is the ES government's security assistance program. This program is for transferring defense articles, defense services, and training its international partners and international organizations. So to participate in foreign military sales route, a country has to be designated as a eligible beneficiary by the ES president. Here a defense transaction will be approved by US president if he finds that the defense partnership will strengthen the security of the ES and promote world peace. Also in the upcoming visit, India is expected to rise its concerns on withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan as well. This is because we have been hearing news that a deal between Taliban and US used to be made official by February 29th. And we'll be seeing more news articles on these issues in the coming days. With this, we have come to the end of analysis of this news article. Now let us move on to the next news article analysis. This news article discusses about the plans of central government to have a public-provide partnership fund to fund research activities in India. In this context, let us see some statistics related to the research and development investments in India. And then we shall see the news article. The syllabus relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. See, investment in research and development is key input for economic growth. And it has positive cascading effect on productivity, then employment on capital formation, and exports, and so on. So many countries have allocated certain portion of their national budget towards research and development. India's investment in R&D has shown a consistently increasing trend in terms of absolute numbers over the years. And you can see in this picture. Know that India is among the top five countries in terms of its output of scientific publications. But investments in R&D as a percentage of GDP has been stagnant over the past two decades. And it has remained constant at around 0.6% to 0.7% of GDP. This is well below the investments made by major countries like South Korea, Israel, Japan. Here one more highlight is that majority of the funds allocated for R&D in India is being utilized by the public sector, that is by the academic institutions and also the public sector enterprises. Whereas at the world level, the private sector utilizes most of the funds for R&D. And this trend is also slowly reversing in India. Because in the financial year 2004-5, the private sector accounted for 28% of India's research spending. And this amount has increased to 40% in the financial year 2016-17. But it still needs significant improvement from the private sector. So we can see that the government is not only the primary source of R&D funding, but also the primary user of these funding. Then one more thing to be noted here is that within the spending on R&D by the public sector, majority of the funds are spent by the central government only. Therefore, there is a need for greater participation of state government and private sector in the overall R&D spending. So in order to stimulate investment in research and development, the Department of Science and Technology under the Ministry of Science and Technology is planning to have a public-private partnership fund to fund the research activities in the country. The idea is to pull funds from a group of companies who are willing to invest in fundamental research such as quantum computers or artificial intelligence or Internet of Things, etc. And the government will invest equally what the private sector invests in this fund. So it will be a public-private fund with an initial target of 40 crore rupees. See, the Department of Science and Technology has said that this will be coordinated through the Science and Engineering Research Board. Now let us discuss in brief about the Science and Engineering Research Board, which is a statutory body which has been established as per the Science and Engineering Research Board Act of 2008. It functions under the Department of Science and Technology. The main aim of this board is to promote basic research in science and engineering and to provide financial assistance to persons who are engaged in research and then to academic institutions including research and development laboratories, then industries and such other agencies. So this is all about the analysis of this news article. To summarize this news article, we saw some statistics related to the R&D investments in India and then we saw the news article where the central government has decided to create a public-private fund to boost investments in research and development activities. Now let us move on to the next news article analysis. This news article is the response of the tribal group in the state of Assam related to the recent announcements and agreements of central government. The syllabus relevant for the analysis of this news article is highlighted here for your reference. Know that recently an agreement has been signed to resolve some of the demands of persons belonging to Bodo community and this agreement was signed between central government, state government of Assam and representative organizations of Bodo community. In our 28th January Hindu news analysis, we saw about Bodo's then the background of various issues with respect to Bodo community since 1960s. We also saw the objectives of the recent agreement in this video and you can watch this video for your reference. Now, one of the very important pros and cons under this recent agreement has raised concerns among some of the tribal populations who are living in hill districts of Assam. That is the agreement reportedly mentioned that Bodo community will be included in the list of schedule tribes for the hill districts. See in the state of Assam, the list of schedule tribes is based on two areas. One is the area of hill districts and the other is the area other than the hill districts. Those tribal populations who inhabit in the hill districts are called as hill tribes and those who are living in other districts are called as plain tribes. See there are two hill districts in the state of Assam. They are Karbi Anglang district and the other is North Kachar Hills. See the North Kachar Hills district is also known as Dima Haso district. Next is the plain tribes that is those who are living in the state of Assam including the Bodo land territorial areas district and excluding the autonomous districts of Karbi Anglang and North Kachar Hills districts. Now the problem arose out of the agreement is that this agreement wants to redraw and rename the Bodo land territorial area district that is BTAD as Bodo land territorial region that is BTR. See the Bodo land territorial area district that is BTAD is spread over the four districts of Kokrajar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri. And now as per the recent agreement they will be redrawn and renamed as the Bodo land territorial region. As per the agreement villages dominated by Bodo's that are presently outside BTAD would be included and villages with non Bodo population would be excluded from the Bodo land territorial region. Some section of the people have welcomed the step as it would provide greater continuity or connection of Bodo populated areas. And this would aid more efficient governance in the 6th schedule administrative unit. See we are saying the BTAD as 6th schedule administrative unit because it is an autonomous administrative unit constituted under the provisions of 6th schedule of the constitution of India. See the 6th schedule of the constitution deals with the administration of tribal areas in the four northeastern states of Assam, then Meghalaya, Tripura and Mijoram as per the provisions of article 244. Now if you look at the news article it mentions that the recent agreement with the Bodo's threatens to intensify the socio-political contestation among different groups in the state of Assam. This is because it has deepened in security among other groups such as coach Rajbongshis, Adivasis and Muslims in the existing Bodo land territorial area districts of Kokrajar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalgiri as they might be excluded from the proposed Bodo land territorial region. Even the Kokrajar MP who is a non Bodo has appealed to the government to ensure that a Bodo solution does not cause a non Bodo problem. In addition to this, the proposal that Bodo's living in the hill areas outside the BTAD will be conferred as scheduled tribe hill status is not accepted by the tribes such as the Karbis. If you look at the news article it mentions that there are 14 recognized plains tribe communities and 15 hill tribe communities and 16 scheduled caste communities. It also mentions that at present that is 16 out of 126 seeds are reserved for members from scheduled tribe communities in the assembly of Assam and two out of 14 seeds are reserved for scheduled tribes in the Lok Sabha from the state of Assam. Now the decision of government to provide scheduled tribe hill status is opposed because the elections to the local autonomous tribal councils and the Dima Hasavo which also enjoys 6th scheduled protections could witness the alignments. Know that the Karbi Anglon Autonomous Council or KAAC which has 26 seeds is due for elections in 2022. The Karbis comprise over 46% of the population in this Karbi Anglon Autonomous Council area and the Dima Hasavo Autonomous District Council or DHADC has 30 seeds and the Dimasas are around 35% in this Autonomous District Council. So the political parties are not pleased with newer claimants to power in the council elections and that is why they are opposing to the recent agreement. With this we have come to the end of analysis of this news article. The display practice question will be discussed at the end of this session. Now let us proceed to the next news article analysis. This news article mentions that economists have suggested widening the direct tax base and they also suggested simplifying GST to a single tax rate of 2% for the biggest fiscal stimulus. So let us understand in this discussion what this means. The syllabus relevant for the analysis of this news article is highlighted here for your reference. So to understand what the economists have suggested you should first understand about GST and its background. GST that is Gours and Services Tax is an indirect tax which has replaced many indirect taxes in our country. Before the GST regime we had a different indirect tax structure like service tax, sales tax, entry tax, luxury tax and so on. So in this list some taxes are exclusively levied by the central government and some taxes are levied by the state governments and even some taxes are collectively levied by the center and the states. But the introduction of the Gours and Services Tax was a very significant step in the field of indirect tax reforms in our country and it has replaced about 17 indirect taxes and these indirect taxes were consolidated into single GST but in different slams like 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% based on the type of Gours and Services. See this amalgamation of a large number of central and state taxes into a single tax reduced the ill effects of cascading or double taxation in a significant way. It also paved the way for a common national market and from the consumer's point of view the biggest advantage is reduction in the overall tax burden on Gours and Services. So remember that all the taxes which we mentioned earlier are subsumed in a single tax called the Gours and Services Tax that is levied on a supply of Gours or services are both at each stage of supply chain starting from manufacturing till the last level of retailing and this GST is a dual levy that is the central government will levy and collect central GST that is CGST and state GST that is SGST on interstate supply of Gours or services. Then the center will also levy and collect integrated GST or IGST on interstate supply of Gours or services. So we can say that we have dual GST system and the GST tax labs range from 0% to 28%. See the GST regime has been structured in a way that essential services and food items are placed in the lower tax labs while luxury services and Gours have been placed in the higher tax slabs. But now the economists have suggested simplifying GST regime to a single tax rate of 12% rather than different tax slabs. So this could boost the sale of items in the higher tax brackets. That is why economists have suggested that the single tax rate of 12% will be the biggest fiscal stimulus. In addition to this, the economists have suggested the widening of direct tax base which means that covering maximum number of people under the tax net. See it has two aspects. One is that it can fetch maximum revenue for the government for its expenditure and then the government can consider lowering of tax rate and collection of higher revenue due to widening of tax base. See the economists even added that widening the direct tax base should be a key priority for the government. This is because in India the main concern is largely a tax non-compliant society. Even if you look at the data which is published by the central board of direct taxes, it said that only about 5.95 crore individuals filed income tax returns disclosing their income for the financial year 2018-19. The economists have said that India's direct tax to GDP ratio is among the lowest in the world which is currently at about 5.98%. So to increase this, they have suggested the widening of direct tax base. So to conclude this news article, we have seen about GST, then the different slabs of GST, then some of the suggestions suggested by the economists. With this, we have come to the end of analysis of this news article. The displayed practice question will be discussed at the end of this session. Now let's start our practice question session. Now, this question is based on GST. They have given two statements and we have to choose incorrect statements. Statement one says, goods and services tax in our country is a unified GST. Then the second statement says, integrated GST is levied by the central government on interstate supply of goods or services. So to answer this question, you should know the difference between unified GST and dual GST. See in our country, we are having dual GST but not unified GST. In case of unified GST system, which means that a single tax rate is supplied throughout the country. That is a country with a unified GST platform merges central taxes with the state level taxes and collects them as one single tax. So a country which is having unified GST, it virtually tax everything at a single rate. Now, in case of dual GST system, it is a dual levy where the central government will levy and collect central GST, that is CGST, and the states will levy and collect state GST, that is SGST on interstate supply of goods or services. Know that in India, the center will also levy and collect integrated GST, that is IGST, on interstate supply of goods or services. Now, if you look at the statements given, first statement says that goods and services tax in our country is a unified GST. So this statement is incorrect statement. Then the second statement says that integrated GST is levyed on intra state supply. But in fact, integrated GST is levyed by the central government on interstate supply of goods or services. Therefore, both the given statements are incorrect statements. So for this question, option C, both one and two is the correct option. Now, this question is based on the state of Assam. They have given two statements and you have to choose correct statements. First statement says the state of Assam has a unique camera legislature. Then the second statement says currently only six states have bicameral legislature. So in the context of this question, you should know the difference between unique camera and bicameral legislature. So in case of unique camera legislature, the state will have only assembly, that is state legislative assembly. And in case of bicameral legislature, the state will have two houses, that is legislative assembly and legislative council. And know that at present there are six states which are having bicameral legislature. These states include the state of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka. So we can say that both the given statements are correct statements. Therefore, option C, both one and two is correct answer for this question. Now let's take up this question which is based on Sundarbans. This paragraph describes Sundarbans. But if you see the question, which is regarding these certain important designations given by the various environmental organizations. See sometimes UPSC gives such lengthy questions just to waste your time. In such questions, you need to know what the question actually demands. The question is about the designations given by certain organizations. Now if you look at the six designations given here, geographical indications designation is related to the intellectual property rights. And many of the famous products that are part of India's rich heritage have been registered as geographical indications. So we can say that geographical indication is not related to Sundarbans. So if you are able to eliminate this fourth designation, then you can arrive at the correct answer which is option C. That is one, two, three, five and six only. So the correct answer for this question is option C. Know that Sundarbans is designated as a world heritage site under UNESCO's World Heritage List. It is also designated as a biosphere reserve as per UNESCO's man and biosphere program. Then if you see Sundarbans is also designated as a Ramsar site. That is as a wetland of international importance as per Ramsar convention. Then it is also designated as an important bird area as per important bird area program of bird life international. Know that it is also designated as a tiger reserve under project tiger. So you can see that Sundarbans is rich in biodiversity. So to this question, the correct answer is option C. Now let's take up this question which is based on mangrove cover assessment. They're asking that as per the 2019 assessment, arrange the following states or union territories in the decreasing order of mangrove cover. They have given the states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal and the Union Territory of Annamar-Nikoba Islands. So if you look at this question, this is yet another lengthy question mainly given to waste your time. So in this paragraph, the key word is state of forest report. Then mangrove cover forest, then mangrove cover assessment and 2019 assessment. So as per India state of forest 2019 report, you need to answer this question. The question is to arrange the states and union territories in the decreasing order of mangrove cover. See as per mangrove cover assessment, which is also part of state of forest report 2019. So as per the report, mangrove forest is extended in nine coastal states, that is from the state of West Bengal to the state of Gujarat. And you can also see in three union territories such as Union Territory of Annamar-Nikoba Islands, then Daman and the U and also the Union Territory of Pudicherry. So from this table, you can see that West Bengal is the state with the largest mangrove cover in India. This is followed by the state of Gujarat, then followed by the Union Territory of Annamar-Nikoba Islands and then it is followed by the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. So the correct answer to this question is option C and the decreasing order is West Bengal, Gujarat, Annamar-Nikoba Islands and finally Andhra Pradesh. Now let's take up one more question which is based on India's state of forest report 2019. Here they have given three statements and you have to choose correct statements. First statement says mangrove forests are found in nine states and in three union territories of India. Then the second statement says Mizoram is the only state from northeastern part of India to have mangrove forest cover due to its geographical proximity to Bay of Bengal. In the third statement says Lakshadri is one of the three union territories to have mangrove forest cover. See this question is based on the India state of forest report of 2019 which was released in the month of December 2019. And in this report, there is a separate chapter on mangrove cover and as per the report, mangrove forests are found in nine states and in three union territories of India. Know that mangroves are tropical plants, mainly grow where the land meets the sea. So as per this report, mangrove forests are found in all the nine coastal states of India right from West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, then Tamil Nadu, and then Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and also in the state of Gujarat. Then apart from these nine coastal states, mangrove forests are also found in the union territories of Pudicherry, Annama, Nicobar and in the recently combined union territory of Dadra, Nagar, Haveli and Daman and Diyu. To be specific, mangroves are found in Daman and Diyu. So we can say that the given first statement is correct and the third statement is wrong. If the third statement is wrong, you can arrive at option A, one only using elimination technique. So from the list of the states that we have mentioned here, Mijoram is not included. So the second statement is incorrect statement. So for this question, option A, one only is the correct answer. Now let's take up practice man's question. And the question is the United States of America and India have been by and large stable trading partners to each other. Yet this area has not been without wrinkles in recent years. Discuss. See this is a practice question and you have to write 150 words for 10 marks. For this question, you can post your written answers in the comment section and your answers will be evaluated and suitable feedback will be given in the reasonable time. With this, we have come to the end of analysis of today's Indian News Analysis. If you like the video, please do like, share, comment and subscribe Shankara's Academy YouTube channel for more updates. Thank you.