 Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankar Reyes Academy. The displayed news articles along with the page numbers is displayed here for your reference. The PDF link of the handed notes and the time stamping of the news articles is provided in the description box as well as in the comment section. Now let us start our today's news analysis. This news article is about the direct tax we would say which was bill 2020 which was passed in Rajasabha recently. See the bill is already passed in Lok Sabha and is waiting for the ascent of the president. In this context we will explain this bill with the help of the question given here. See the title of the bill is direct tax we would say which was bill 2020 and the phrase we would say which was means no dispute but trust. The scheme was announced during the union budget 2020 to provide dispute resolution in respect of pending income tax litigation. The objective of the scheme is to reduce pending income tax litigation and to generate timely revenue for the government. The scheme will also benefit taxpayers by providing them peace of mind and then certainty. As a result of this it leads to savings on account of time and resources that would otherwise be spent on the long drawn litigation process. Now we will see what is the amount payable for dispute resolution. The amount payable by the appellant is based on whether the dispute relates to payment of tax or payment of interest, penalty or fees. In addition to this the appellant is required to pay an additional amount if such payment is made after 31st March 2020. If you look at this table it clearly explains the amount payable for resolution of disputes relating to payment of tax, relating to payment of fees, interest or penalty based on the date of payment. Now we see that who can join this scheme. See the taxpayers whose cases are pending at any level such as at Supreme Court or at the High Court level or at the income tax appellate tribunals can benefit from this scheme. Therefore to join this scheme that is for dispute resolution the appellant is required to furnish an undertaking waiving his rights to seek any remedy or claim in relation to the dispute under any law including the income tax act of 1961. So once a dispute is resolved under this scheme the designated authority cannot levy interest or penalty in relation to that dispute. So we can say that no appellate forum can make a decision in relation to the matter of dispute once it is resolved. And also such matters cannot be reopened in any proceedings under any law including the income tax act of 1961. Under this scheme you should also know that the proposed mechanism will not cover certain disputes such as where the prosecution has been already initiated before the declaration is filed which involve persons who have been convicted or are being prosecuted for offenses under certain laws such as the Indian Penal Code or for enforcement of civil liabilities or involving undisclosed foreign income or assets. These are the important details that you have to focus from this news article. With this knowledge let's take up the question given for this question they have given two statements and you have to choose correct statements. If you look at the first statement it was mentioned that it was first proposed in the union budget 2020 mainly to resolve the pending litigations related to indirect tax such as service tax. This statement is incorrect because this scheme is meant for dispute resolution in respect of pending income tax litigation. In this context you should also know that in the 2019 budget the central government announced Sapka Vishwa's legacy dispute resolution scheme which aims at resolving the pending disputes relating to indirect taxes such as service tax and central excise cases. Therefore you should not confuse between these two schemes that is we would say Vishwa's scheme is for direct taxes whereas Sapka Vishwa's legacy dispute resolution scheme is for indirect taxes. If you look at the second statement it says under the scheme the appellant has to pay only the amount of disputed tax with a complete waiver of interest and penalty if the payments are made before 1st June 2020. See this statement is also incorrect because the cutoff date given for this scheme is 31st March 2020. Therefore option D neither one nor two is the right answer for this question. With this information let us proceed to the next news article analysis. Let's take up this question which is based on the news article reporting the rise and fall of Indian rupee in relation to the US dollar. Yesterday we have explained about RBA's plan for forexpap operation and RBA said that banks will buy US dollars from RBA and simultaneously Reserve Bank of India agree to sell the same amount of US dollars at the end of this fapping period. Therefore this fapping operation of selling US dollar by RBA would leads to availability of US dollars in the Indian market which is expected to check the fall or the depreciation of Indian rupee. See the response from Reserve Bank of India has assumed significance because we know that world countries including India are facing severe crisis due to COVID-19. One of such impacts is the outflow or pulling out of foreign portfolio investments from India. As a result of outflow of foreign portfolio investments it has resulted in the depreciation of Indian rupee against the US dollar. Therefore to understand better you should know the difference between appreciation and the depreciation of Indian rupee. See the currency appreciation is an increase in the value of one currency in relation to another currency whereas currency depreciation is the decrease in value of one currency in relation to another currency. In our case the depreciation of Indian rupee means the decrease of value of Indian rupee against US dollar. If you look at the news article it mentions the RBA plan for Forex WAP operation. As a result of this Forex WAP operation by RBI the RBA would infuse more dollar into the market. This will reduce the problem of outflow for FPI. However at the same time Reserve Bank of India has to ensure adequate flow of rupee in the Indian market. So to address this issue Reserve Bank of India has assured that adequate liquidity support to the market. For this purpose Reserve Bank of India can use several tools for example it can reduce the repo rate. It means that it can reduce the rate of interest at which RBA gives loans to the banks by accepting the securities. This makes more money is available to the market at a lesser rate of interest. In this contest let us understand another important tool that is long term repo operations which has been in the news recently. See the concept of long term repo operations explained in our third March 2020 the Hindu news analysis video. If you look at the difference between repo rate and long term repo operations the fundamental difference is with reference to time period. See the long term repo operations is a tool used by the Reserve Bank of India to ensure that commercial banks are getting cash or money at the repo rate for long term needs. See this operation is very simple that is Reserve Bank of India will buy government securities from the banks and winter provide them money for long term needs for example for one year or for three years. Now with this information let us take up the question in this question they have given two statements and you have to choose correct statement. Statement one says an increase in foreign portfolio investments to India may result in depreciation of rupee. See this statement is incorrect because increase in foreign portfolio investments indicate additional amount of US dollar is coming into the Indian market. Whereas outflow of foreign portfolio investments indicate dollar is going out of Indian market. If the dollar is coming into the Indian market it may lead to appreciation or increase of the value of Indian currency. Whereas if US dollar is going out of Indian market it leads to the depreciation or the fall of Indian currency against US dollar. Therefore the first statement is incorrect. If you look at the second statement it mentions that the long term repo operations of RBI may absorb the liquidity in the market. See this statement is also incorrect because in long term repo operations Reserve Bank of India will buy government securities from the banks and in turn provide them money for long term needs that is for example for one year or for three years. Therefore more money is infused into the Indian market. So for this question you have to choose correct statements since both the given statements are incorrect so option D is right answer for this question. Now let us proceed to the next news article analysis. Now let us look at an editorial regarding India's higher education institutions. The author has highlighted the factors responsible for the sustained success of foreign universities in QS rankings and he has also given some important suggestions for the improvement of Indian universities in this QS rankings. So let us see in brief about QS rankings first and then the important suggestions given by the author in this editorial. The syllabus relevant for the analysis of this news article is highlighted here for your reference. The QS rankings is provided by Kwakwa Relief Simons which is a company specialized in higher education services. That is why it is named as QS rankings. The QS World University rankings evaluate the performance of the universities every year using six different metrics such as academic reputation, employee reputation, then faculty or student ratio, then citations per faculty, then international faculty ratio and then international student ratio. So these are six different parameters on which the QS rankings are given. Apart from this, there is QS World University rankings by subject-wise which identifies the world's strongest universities every year in 48 individual subject areas. In QS subject-wise rankings 2020, India has performed better where 26 institutions are in the top 100 in their respective disciplines. But if you take overall QS World University rankings, not even a single Indian university is ranked in the top 150 rankings. See the western universities lead with top ranks. Therefore, the author tells that India can learn lessons from these western institutions. And many of the top ranking institutions are from countries like the United States of America or from the United Kingdom. Here one point which is to be noted is that the top 10 universities or either private universities or the public universities having significant autonomy from governmental control. Now let us look at the some of the common factors behind the success of top western universities. And the first factor is the autonomy. They independently operate from bureaucratic, corporate and importantly from political interference. Therefore, they have been major centers of innovation in teaching and research. Then the next important factor is the top universities are ideologically neutral or pluralistic. That is, there is a coexistence of different ideologies like right, left and center among their faculty and students. And there is no official position on any issue. Therefore, professors and students are free to choose whatever opinion they prefer. Next, if you see the top universities perform excellently well in attracting and retaining talent. They hire professors very selectively that is based on outstanding abilities. In addition to this, even the students are admitted based on their merit. Then the next aspect is that the top universities train their students with critical thinking, debating and writing abilities. Also, they encourage students to look at issues with multiple aspects like social aspects, cultural aspects, then economic aspects and so forth and so on. This is where the universities stand out because the graduates have higher skills and knowledge which gives them reputation in the job market. Then the next aspect is that the world's best universities are known for involving their own alumni in governance and reforms of their own universities. In addition to these aspects, these universities manage their finances very well and they raise funding from their alumni if it is required. So they have surplus money to fund for research and required academic activities. So we can say that these are some of the common factors behind the success of foreign universities. See, the majority of the top western universities were funded centuries ago and it has taken years for them to evolve into what they are today. But if you see that there are also Chinese universities which have reached the top rankings within two decades with the help of huge state funding. Therefore, the author of this editorial tells that India can learn lessons from the western model but not from the Chinese model because he is of the opinion that the Chinese model is not feasible practically. Now we will see the suggestions suggested by the author for Indian universities. He mentions that the main problem is funding in India. Therefore the author suggests that India should reach out for private funding because the government is short of funds. Then the author suggests that politicization of universities should be avoided. And also there should not be excessive interference and over-regulation in the functioning of the universities. And Indian universities should be encouraged to adapt some of the best practices from the foreign universities. In this context, the author has appreciated the government's decision to identify institutions of eminence because the main aim of this program is to provide maximum autonomy from bureaucracy in order to climb up the world rankings. See, in our third August 2019 analysis, we have extensively discussed about institutions of eminence program. Therefore, you can refer this video for your understanding. To conclude this editorial, the author tells that with a long-term vision, it is possible for India's institutions to achieve top rankings. To conclude this editorial, we have seen the factors responsible for success of foreign universities and the important suggestions given by the author for improvement of Indian universities in QS rankings. With this, we have come to the end of analysis of this editorial. The displayed practice question will be discussed at the end of this session. Now, let us move on to the analysis of the next news article. This news article talks about the need for action at the local level in order to reduce the air pollution under the National Clean Air Program. In this context, today we shall be seeing the status of air pollution in our country and then one of the important initiatives of the government that is the National Clean Air Program to curb the air pollution. The syllabus relevant for the analysis of this news article is highlighted here for your reference. See, air pollution is one of the biggest global environmental challenges of our present times. It is one of the alarming challenges of urbanization. This is because cities occupy just 3% of land but contribute more than 60% of GDP and also responsible for 80% of carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, the cities which are the engines of growth and development but now becoming more and more unsustainable. Now, we will see the present status of air pollution in our country based on World Air Quality Report released by IQ Air. Now that IQ Air is a Swiss and US based company releases World Air Quality Report. In this report, India is ranked as the 5th most polluted country out of 98 countries in the 2019 ranking. See, the air quality report says that India is the 5th most polluted country and its capital that is Delhi is the most polluted capital in the world. Even the Indian cities such as Gajiaabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh, then Delhi, then Noida have particulate meter 2.5 levels 10 times more than the prescribed limits of WHO. See, the World Air Health Organization prescribed the level of particulate meter 2.5 as 10 micrograms per cubic meter. Know that the long term exposure to particulate pollution or particulate meter can result in significant health problems such as increased respiratory symptoms, then decreased lung functioning, asthma, then premature deaths with heart or lung diseases or even with lung cancer. So, reducing pollutants in the air is one of the most important for human health and also for the environment. In this context, let us discuss one of the important initiatives by the Government of India to mitigate the meanness of air pollution. Therefore, the Government of India has launched the National Clean Air Program with a commitment to tackle air pollution in the year 2019. The National Clean Air Program aims to reduce particulate meter 2.5 and particulate meter 10 in around 102 cities and to reduce by 20 to 30% by 2024 as compared to 2017 levels. See, it has been a year since the central government launched the National Clean Air Program but the experts feel that the progress of the program has been very slow in terms of controlling air pollution. Therefore, addressing the concern, the Union Environment Minister said that every city has different pollutants and the source of the pollutants are also different for every city. Therefore, city level plans are needed to deal these problems at the local level. So, the city-specific action plans include measures for strengthening the air quality monitoring network, then reducing vehicular or industrial emissions, then creating green buffer zones along the roads, then use of mechanical state sweepers and increasing public awareness, etc. So, once city plans are prepared, these plans are approved for the implementation at the ground level for all the 102 non-attainment cities. These non-attainment cities are those which are found to be consistently violating the national ambient air quality standards i.e. NAACS standard during the period from 2011 to 2015. The minister also said that around 70% of seaways goes untreated and thus making the country's water bodies very polluted. In this context, it is worth to mention that the inspection by the Central Pollution Control Board during the period that is from 2016 to 2020 have found that nearly 340 industries out of 700 industries have violated the environmental norms and thus severely polluting the environment. Now, what should be focused or what should be done? See the international experiences and studies indicate that significant outcomes in terms of air pollution initiatives are only visible in the long-term period. Therefore, to mitigate the problems of air pollution, the ongoing national clean air program shall be implemented in latent spirit with the effective cooperation right from the ground level to the national level. 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 is about the rocket attack and the American response in Iraq which has escalated the tensions between the two nations. Yesterday, that is on 13th March 2020, America has carried out an air strike which has targeted pro-Iranian military factions in Iraq. This air strike has killed one civilian and five security personnel in Iraq. America said that the strikes were against the Iran-sponsored Qatar Hezbollah militia group locations in Iraq. And it was a retaliation for rocket attack which killed two American and one British soldiers on 11th March 2020. In this context, know that Qatar Hezbollah i.e. Brigades of the Party of God is a powerful Iraqi Shia militia or insurgent group which was founded in 2007. It is claimed to be receiving financial and military support from Iran but operating in Iraqi soil. Since 2009, the US has designated Qatar Hezbollah as a terrorist organization accusing them of threatening the peace and stability in the West Asian region. In this context, you should know that Iraq has long struggled history to balance its ties with the United States as well as with Iran who have been adversaries for nearly four decades. However, the recent tensions between the United States of America and Iran further escalated when Iran's top military commander General Qasim Soleimani who was killed by a US drone strike in Iraq in the month of January 2020. With this information, let's take up this map-based question. In this question, they have given two statements and you have to choose correct statements. Statement one says Iraq is a landlocked country in West Asia. And the second statement says Iraq shares borders with Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iran. This question is a map-based question. If you look at the map, you may feel that Iraq may be a landlocked country but in reality Iraq is not a landlocked country because Iraq is having direct access to Persian Gulf. So the first statement is incorrect statement. If you look at the map, we can see that Iraq shares border with about six countries. These are right from Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. And Iraq is not sharing border with Lebanon. So the given second statement is also incorrect statement. So for this question, option D that is neither one nor two is the right answer. In this context, know that the present day Iraq partially encompasses the ancient Mesopotamian civilization which thrived between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and these rivers flow into the Persian Gulf through Iraq. With this information, let's proceed to the next news article analysis. This news article is about the widespread rain, hail storm and strong winds which has affected the wheat crop cultivation in the state of Manjab. The news article reported that lodging has taken place in around 1 lakh hectares in the state of Manjab which could reduce the average crop yield by about 6 to 7%. So the term lodging in farming usually means the bending over of the stems near ground level of grain crops as the stems weaken to the point where they can no longer support the weight of the grain therefore causing it to fall over. So this makes them very difficult to harvest and can reduce yield significantly. Know that lodging in cereal crops such as wheat, paddy is often a result of the combined effects of inadequate standing power of the crops and other conditions or impacts such as excessive raining, high wind speed, hail storms or excessive soil moisture or in some cases because of poor soil density or weak topography etc. This is about the lodging in farming which means the bending over of the stems near ground level of grain crops. See the news article mentions that Fazelika and Patiala districts of Punjab reported maximum bending. Now let's take up the question based on the news article. In this question they have given 4 statements like soils with clay loam or loam texture, then heavy soils with poor drainage, then light soils with adequate nutrient content and water holding capacity and they are asking that which type of soil texture or soil best suitable for wheat cultivation. In this context you should know about wheat cultivation which is a ruby crop and in India wheat is generally grown in winter season and wheat can be grown in a variety of soils that is soils with clay loam or loam texture or soils with good structure and moderate water holding capacity are ideal for wheat cultivation. So soils with clay loam or loam texture suitable for wheat cultivation. If you look at the second statement it mentions that very porous and excessively drained soils. See very porous and excessively drained soils are not suitable for wheat cultivation. Therefore the second statement is incorrect because high porous soils with excessive drainage or draining makes the soil are left with low moisture content. Therefore as a result of excessive drainage and high porosity makes the soil not suitable for wheat cultivation. If you look at the third and fourth statement it is mentioned heavy and lighter soils. See soil texture refers to the proportion of sand, silt and clay sized particles that make the mineral fraction of the soil. Here know that light soil refers to soil characterized by high in sand relative to clay while heavy soils are made up of largely with clay. So we can say that heavy soils are tightly packed soils whereas light soils are loosely packed soils with high porosity. So in case of heavy soils porosity is less and in case of lighter soils porosity is high. Therefore heavy soil with good drainage is suitable for wheat cultivation under dry conditions and these soils can absorb and can retain rainwater. Whereas heavy soils with poor structure and poor drainage are not suitable as wheat crop is sensed due to water logging. So the statement 3 is incorrect. Also know that wheat can be successfully grown on lighter soils provided that their water and nutrient holding capacities are improved. Therefore the fourth statement is correct statement. For this question you have to choose correct soil textures that is one and four only is right option for this question. In this context you also know that the major wheat growing states in India are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and also a state of Gujarat. Let's take up other practice question session from our news analysis. This question is based on national clean air program. They have given two statements and you have to choose correct statement. Statement one says it aims to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP level by 33 to 35% by 2030 from 2005 level. Then the second statement says under this program city specific action plans are being formulated for about 102 non-attainment cities which are identified for implementing mitigation actions to curb air pollution. In this context you should know about national clean air program which was launched in 2019 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. And this program aims to reduce particulate meter 2.5 and particulate meter 10 in about 102 cities by about 20 to 30% by 2024 as compared to 2017 levels. So the given first statement is incorrect statement. Know that to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by about 33 to 35% by 2030 from 2005 level is the INDC target of India under Paris Agreement. If you look at the second statement it mentions that city specific action plans to curb air pollution in around 102 non-attainment cities. This statement is correct statement with reference to national clean air program. Here non-attainment cities are those cities which are found to be consistently violating the national ambient air quality standards during the period 2011 to 2015. For this question you have to choose correct statement therefore option B to only is the right answer for this question. Now let's take up practice main question in GS2 paper. The question is India's higher education sector has witnessed a tremendous growth in the number of university level institutions and colleges since independence. But India needs a world class higher education system free of excessive interference. In the light of the above statement suggest suitable measures to improve the higher education system in India. This is a 10 marks question and you can write in 150 words. See this is a practice main question and you can post your written answers in the comment section. And your posted answers will be evaluated and suitable feedback will be given in the suitable time frame. With this we have come to the end of analysis of today's news analysis. If you like the video please do like, comment, share and subscribe Shankar Ayes Academy YouTube channel for more updates. Thank you.