 a very good morning aspirants welcome to the indian express analysis of shankara es academy so in this video we are going to see some of the important articles from the third week of december 2023 displayed here are the list of news articles that we are going to discuss today so without much delay let us get into the first news article discussion take a look at this news article this news article talks about the key findings of the national oceanic and atmospheric administrations annual arctic report card see national oceanic and atmospheric administration in short called as NOAA is an US governmental agency established to study earths oceans atmosphere and coastal areas so you can add the findings of the report in your main sansa writing as a value addition that is why we have chosen this news article now we shall see some of the key findings of the report now before that you have to look at this image here you can see the extent of the arctic circle see the arctic circle includes land in eight countries which includes Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, United States to be specific it is Alaska then Canada it includes Yukon Northwest Territories and Nunavut then it includes Greenland which belongs to Denmark and Iceland so all these comprises of the arctic circle the report is going to talk about the arctic circle only so now let us see the key findings of the report firstly the report highlighted that the 2023 summer was the warmest on record in the arctic the temperatures raised nearly four times faster than the global average since 1979 now this is a concern because it is the sixth warmest year since 1900s indicating the increase in the frequency of occurrence of this phenomenon so this is the first key finding of the report secondly the report stated that these rising temperatures contributed to unpredictable wild fires in Canada particularly in the northwest territories the fires actually was exhibited by high temperature and below average rainfall and this led to evacuations and reduced air quality over a worst area so nearly 10 million acres in the northwest territories were burnt leading to the displacement of 46,000 people comprising more than two-third of the territories population so this phenomenon has led to the emergence of climate refugees thirdly the report stated that the warming trend resulted in a decline in sea ice extent affecting the coastal areas of Greenland and contributed to environmental changes so according to the report between August 2022 and September 2023 Greenland has lost roughly 350 trillion pounds of mass this Greenland's ice sheet melting is the second largest contributor to sea level rise partly the report stated that the warmer ocean temperatures has accelerated the thawing of subsea permafrost see here you have to understand about what is this subsea permafrost see subsea permafrost is a layer of permanently frozen ground that exists beneath the seabed in the polar regions continental ships it formed during the last ice age when sea levels were low and a larger portion of earth's water was bound up in ice sheet on land so subsea permafrost represents a large organic matter pool so what happens if this subsea permafrost begin to melt pens see if thawing and microbially degradation happens then it might release huge amount of CO2 and CH4 to the atmosphere we all know that CO2 and CH4 are greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming and ocean acidification currently the warmer ocean temperatures are accelerating the thawing of subsea permafrost which is a reason for concern so this is the fourth important finding now the fifth important finding is that the climate change has impacted freshwater bodies and marine ecosystem leading to extremely low number of chinook and chum salman in western alaska see chinook and chum salman is a fish population now the decline of this fish population had profound cultural and food security impacts on indigenous communities so the food security issue is the fifth important finding finally the report stated that the rising temperatures have led to drastic thinning of the mendon hall glacier located in alaska over the past 20 years so as a result of this over the years the melt away water has annually caused floods in the region for example in august 2023 a glacial lake on a territory of the mendon hall glacier burst through its ice dam and caused unprecedented flooding and severe property damage in alaska's junah region so these are all some of the key findings of the report don't forget to highlight it in the environment related question so these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion this news article discusses about india's aspiration to become a global semiconductor manufacturing hub so in this news article discussion let us understand the basics about semiconductors see semiconductor is a material product usually comprised of silicon which conducts electricity more than an insulator but less than a pure conductor to put it in simple words it is an intermediate in electrical conductivity between a conductor and an insulator they are employed in the manufacture of various kinds of electronic devices including diodes transistors and integrator circuits such devices have found wide application because of their compactness reliability power efficiency and low cost talking about some of the applications of a semiconductors see semiconductors are the brains of modern-day electric electronic spanning consumer products like smartphones and smart tv's to more sophisticated equipment used in industrial applications defense and aerospace they also act as a foundational technology for advancements in other critical and emerging technologies you can see some of the uses of semiconductors in this image but unfortunately as of now almost all the semiconductor demand in india is met by imports from countries like us japan and thai one know that india is a hub for semiconductor research and design but it lacks behind in the production of the chip locally so this could be changed but this also does not mean that india has not taken any steps regarding the manufacturing of chips let me list out some of the schemes for the chip manufacturing firstly a scheme for promotion of manufacturing of electronic components and semiconductors it is in short called as specs it was launched in april 1 2020 it involves provisions of financial incentive of 25 percentage on capital expenditure for the identified list of electronic goods this includes electronic components semiconductor or display fabrication ATMP units and specialized sub-assemblies so if a person is going to make a capital expenditure on the above mentioned categories then the government will provide a subsidy of 25 percentage this is what specs scheme is about secondly in december 2021 india launched semi-con india program with a total outlay of 76000 crore rupees for the development of semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country thirdly under the ages of semi-con india program the cabinet also approved for the setting of india semiconductor mission ism ism is the nodal agency for efficient and smooth implementation of the schemes under the semi-con india program four schemes approved under the program includes modified scheme for setting up of semiconductor fab in india for setting up of display fabs in india for setting up of compound semiconductor or silicon photonics sensor fab discrete semiconductor fab and semiconductor assembly testing marketing and packaging in short called as atmp and then os at facilities in india apart from this the semi-con india future design it is a design linked incentive scheme okay these efforts will definitely boost the semiconductor sector in the country see already indian semiconductor market is valued at 27.2 billion euros three in 2021 and according to the india electronics and semiconductor association india's semiconductor market is expected to more than double between 2021 to 2026 and it is expected to reach 64 billion euros dollars so these efforts by the government to domestically manufactured ships will help in boosting the semiconductor market value of india so these are all some of the very important points that you have to remember about semiconductors it might be asked in the prelims question and it is a potential mains question so make note of all these points and revise whenever you get time so these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion look at this explained article it has been a month since the unexpected death of matthew parry he is an actor from friends series i hope everyone knew him his autopsy report said that he died from the acute effects of ketamine so here comes the question what is this ketamine now i chose this news article because upsa is currently asking some strange terminologies or names that is why we have chosen this news article so let's understand about ketamine see ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic hallucinogen that has been used as an anaesthetic for animals since the 1960s later it was approved for human use by the u s food and drug administration so currently ketamine is known for creating a feeling of detachment from pain and the environment in recent years ketamine has gained attention for its potential therapeutic effects in treating depression and other serious mental health issues especially in cases where traditional therapies have not been effective now talking about the methods of consumption see patients with mental health issues typically take ketamine through an intravenous line which is in short called as IV they also take it through nasal spray or tablet once or twice a week for a specified treatment period for recreational purposes ketamine is often snorted as a white crystalline powder it can also be injected or smoked so here you might have a doubt about the effects of ketamine see some patients undergoing ketamine treatment report positive experiences they are describing it as a reset button for the brain during treatment sessions individuals may have pleasant visualizations and the sense of detachment leading to a reduction in the perceived weight of daily problems now they experience this because ketamine affects brain receptors the traditional antidepressants do not target so this leads to a psychedelic like experience and this aspect is seen as a integral part of the drugs therapeutic effect also remember when used for medicinal purposes and in the right dose ketamine can be safe and effective in treating mental illnesses but there are also concerns about potential addiction and health risk especially when taken chronically in high doses chronic use may lead to severe bladder damage and there are indications that abuse could result in cognitive impairment so in essence when used under medical supervision ketamine can be a valuable tool for anesthesia and potentially for certain mental health conditions but its recreational use poses significant health risks so these are also some of the important point that you have to remember about ketamine so these learned points now let us move on to the next news article discussion take a look at this news article this news article portrays a contemporary dancer and choreographer he's from mosambique and he is popularly known for his art to offer critics of his nation's evolution through the independence struggle socialism civil war democracy and corruption so in this context let us revise some of the world history with respect to the african continent see the colonization of african continents started in 19th century in 19th century many individual explorers published about their expeditions in the african continent these explorers through their accounts highlighted the wealth of central africa and they were also able to navigate important rivers like the congo opening up the possibility of transporting mineral wealth to the coast for export now all these generator interest among europeans king leopold II of belgium was a notable figure in the early stages of african colonialism in 1876 he established control over congo and he treated it as his private colony congo was renamed as congo free state in 1885 this success of leopold in congo spared other european powers to join the race for colonies in africa by 1914 nearly the entire continent was climbed by european powers including britain belgium france germany italy and portugal only abyssinia that is modern-day ethiopia and liberia remained independent this scramble for africa often led to clashes between the european powers over territorial and trading rights for example france and britain had conflicting interest in the region had conflicting interest in the region like egypt and sudan then belgium opposed agreements between britain and portugal that would have restricted c axis to congo so to convince all the european powers instead of a war the european powers decided to convene the berlin conference on 1884 say the conference was held in berlin in germany that is why the name of the conference is given as berlin conference nearly 14 european countries along with the u.s met in the conference the main purpose of the conference was to settle disputes regarding western central africa particularly the niger and congo river valleys the conference resulted in the demarcation of spears of influence for each colonial power in africa in other words we can say that the berlin conference of 1884 to 85 marked the climax of the scramble for africa which lasted until 1914 here the term scramble for africa is very important it is the name given to the way in which european countries brought nearly all the african countries under their control as part of their separate empires the scramble for africa began in 1880s by 1914 the only african countries not controlled by a european power were liberia and ethiopia as i said earlier so coming back the conference allowed the european power to divide africa amongst themselves with no regard for the african peoples their culture or any natural boundaries this led to many undesirable consequences for example the maasai tribe they found themselves split between kenya and tansania due to european demarcations any resistance by the africans was crushed by the large and well-equipped european armies while others suffered hardship and hunger as their traditional ways of life were destroyed and they were forced to work as cheap labor in mines and on plantation growing crops like cotton tea coffee and cocoa for exports to hero in many of the places schools were run by missionaries who then expected the local africans to become christians in other colonies the africans were treated less better than slaves and nowhere did they have the right to vote or say how their country should be run so this is how the african continent was colonized by the european powers the aftermath of world war two saw a shift in the global political landscape with colonial powers weakened and the rise of the desire for self-determination and independence among colonized peoples so the late 1940s and 1950s marked the beginning of decolonization process in africa gana which was formerly the gold coast gained independence from britain rule in 1957 and it became the first sub-saharan african nation to do so the 1960 was a significant decade for african independence many countries gained independence during this period for this reason 1960s is referred as the year of africa for example nigeria gained independence from the united kingdom in 1960 algaria gained independence from france 1962 after a prolonged and bitter war of independence then countries like kenya tanzania uganda and zambia gained independence in the 1960s but still there were a lot of colonies in the african continent so the independence movement continued throughout the following decade countries like musambique angola and cape verde gained independence in 1970s amoeba gained the independence from the south african administration in 1990 and the end of apartheid marked a significant turning point in south africa's history nelson-mandela was released from prison in 1990 and democratic elections were held in 1994 leading to the end of minority rule and the establishment of a democratic government so the process was very complex and some regions faced prolonged struggles for independence so this is how the african continent was colonized and decolonized so with these learned points now let us move on to the next news article discussion look at this news article this news article talks about zip net so let's first understand about zip net and then we shall see about the news article see zip net can be expanded as zonal integrated polis network it was introduced in the year 2004 under the guidance and supervision of a IPS officer shri sudhir yadav the main objective of the project is to share crime and criminal information in real time the project was also approved by the ministry of home affairs the information published on the database relates to public interest so prior to zip net such information usually circulates through offline modes like papers wireless communications and etc but the database has provided a search engine to match information from central repository in online environment currently this database inactive in few states like delhi hariana uttapradesh rajasthan panjap chandiga uttarkand and hemachal pradesh i have mentioned here the modules for public or police domain here you can go through it so in simple words we can say that zip net is a tool for interstate police coordination especially to track missing persons and pinpoint proclaimed offenders this is about zip net now let us see about the news article see one of the feature of the zip net is that the details in the section for missing persons and stolen vehicles are published in the form of a list and any can browse through it the database intends to essentially put the details of the complainant so that if there is a development in the case they can be contacted easily the complainants can also access the information to get details that may not have been shared with them so this is what the intention of the platform but recently people have started using the details to call up complainants and extort them on the pretext of providing information nearly 904 such cases have been recorded so far so currently the delhi police has insisted other states to replace the contact information of complainants with the numbers of the area station head sh o or the investigating officer so this is about the news article given here it is a very good example for how an initiative can be misused so it is very important to develop a framework that is not breached by any frauds so that's all regarding this news article so with this we came to the end of the news article discussion if you like the video hit 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