 Good evening, Esperance. Welcome to daily news analysis by Shankara Ace Academy. Today's date is 23rd September 2023. Displayed here are the list of topics we are going to see today. Now without wasting any time, let us get into the discussion. Look at this news article. The news is that Union Sports Minister is going to skip the inauguration ceremony of Asian Games in China. This is because China has denied the entry of three Indian players into Asian Games. Those three players were from Arunachal Pradesh. As India rejects differential treatment of citizens based on domicile or ethnicity, the government cancelled the ministerial visit to Asian Games in China and the government also decided to protest with Beijing. In this context, let us see some important points about Asian Games for our prelims examination. The Asian Games were the oldest and most prestigious event held once every four years. It is the second largest multi-sport event after Olympics. The athletes from all Asian countries were welcomed to participate in this event. The Asian Games is also recognized by International Olympic Committee. Note that Asian Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from 1951 to 1978. And since 1982, Olympic Council of Asia regulates the Asian Games. The symbol for Asian Games is a rising sun with interlocking rings. So far, 46 nations have participated in this Asian Games and there are 44 sports included in the Asian Games history. The Asian Games follow the sports program similar to Olympics, with the athletes and swimming as core sports. Apart from this, diverse sporting culture of Asian continent such as South Asia's Kabadi, East Asia's Wushu also takes place in Asian Games. The first edition of Asian Games was held in New Delhi in March 1951. And in 1982 also, the Asian Games were held in New Delhi. Note that India is one of the seven countries to have participated in all editions of Asian Games. India along with Japan is a only country to have at least one gold medal in every event of Asian Games. Note that the motto of Asian Games is ever on board. This is designed and proposed by Guru Dutt Sundi of India. The last edition of Asian Games that is the 18th edition was held in 2018 at Jagarta in Indonesia. The 19th edition of Asian Games which is recently happening in China in Hongshu city. There were more than 40 sports and 61 disciplines played in Asian Games with many games such as archery, boxing, hockey, tennis, water polo which are also included in Olympics. See the cricket was included in the 19th Asian Games in China with both men and women teams compete in T20 format. Two new games were also introduced in this Asian Games. They are e-sports and breaking. E-sports means gamers need to compete in various games in virtual and electronic environment. For example, League of Legends, Overwatch, etc. The breaking or breakdance is a style of street dancing which is also included in recent Asian Games. There were also Asian Para Games which is a competition for athletes with physical disabilities and this Asian Para Games is going to happen in China this year after the completion of Asian Games. So this is all about the Asian Games. Now let us move to the next article discussion. Now look at this editorial article. This article is speaking about interest of US and West Asian nations. In addition to this, the article also points out opportunities available for India in West Asia. This article was written due to announcement of India Middle East Hero Economic Corridor. So in our discussion, let us first understand the important points mentioned in this article. In addition to this, we will also understand some points about India-West Asia relations. Before that, let us look at the syllabus. In brilliance, this topic comes under current events of national and international importance. And in mains, it comes under GS paper 2 and falls under the topic of India and its neighborhood relations. And also under bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India are affecting India's interest. So we have seen the syllabus. Now let us get into the discussion. First let us look at the important points from editorial. As we all know, recently G20 summit was held in New Delhi under India's presidency. During the summit, India, US, European Union and some Middle East nations including Saudi Arabia and UAE have jointly announced India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor, IMEC. It is a multinational road, rail and shipping project. It aims to link India with Middle East and Europe. This project would help to boost connectivity and trade between India, Middle East and Europe. As we saw just now, US is also part of India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor. Here you may have a doubt, why is US interested in this particular project? See, US is located outside Europe and Middle East, right? The reason behind this is China and Iran. See, China is continuously engaging with multiple nations including West Asia to showcase its strength. Apart from this, China also announced Belt and Road Initiative in 2013. This initiative aims to enhance the connectivity and trade between China and other world nations. These ambitions of China triggered the US. See, US is a historically superpower and it continuously working to maintain this position. But sudden rise of China angered the US. So, US is engaging with like-minded countries to counter China's presence in West Asian region. See, Iran is also not interested to be under the control of US. Iran started doing its own activities that are against US. So, the rise of Iran in West Asia also worried the United States. So, these are the reasons behind interest of US in India, Middle East, Europe Economic Corridor. The US is thinking that this project would help US to obtain a strong foothold in West Asia and to counter China and Iran. The IMEC project is also considered as a countermeasure to China's Belt and Road Initiative. So, these are the important points mentioned in the editorial. Now we will see about India specific information. See, India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor will benefit India in many ways. This project would help India to enhance its connectivity and cultural ties with West Asian nations. But the problem here is that US may use India as a tool to counter China under the name of this connectivity project. So, the author of the editorial says that India should not fall under the trap of US and China rather than that India should establish itself independently in West Asian region. Now we will look into the India-West Asia relations. First of all, know that West Asia comprises nearly 20 countries. Some of the important countries are Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey and Yemen. So, this is the map of West Asia. See, the West Asia is acting as a land bridge between different continents. It links the three major continents, Asia, Africa and Europe. Apart from this, the West Asian landmass also meets three seas, namely Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea and Arabian Sea. Due to this strategic location, West Asia is acting as a center of international trade with different regions. In addition to this, the discovery of oil in West Asian region has drastically increased its importance. Before colonial era, the Arab people in West Asian region has acted as intermediary between India and Europe. Arab bought the goods like spices, textiles, jewelry from India and they sold it to European traders for profit. Later, the trade route was established directly between Europe and India. So, this diminished the role of West Asian people and the ties between the two regions also downgraded. In colonial era also, there was no major development in the ties. Then after independence, India adopted a concept of socialist economy. So, there was only limited trade with other nations. However, in 1991, India liberalized its economy. As a result, India started establishing trade ties with many other regions including West Asia. In 2005, India adopted the policy called Look West Policy. Under this policy, many bilateral trade and friendship agreements were signed between India and West Asian nations. India also started importing huge crude oil from the Gulf countries of West Asia. In addition to this, India also constructed Chabahar port in Iran. This port has offered India a connectivity to Central Asia, especially to Afghanistan through Iran. So, this is all about the general ties between India and West Asia. Now, coming to the trade ties. See, most of the West Asian nations are India's largest trading partners. For example, last year, UAE and Saudi Arabia were third and fourth largest trading partners of India. Apart from this, many Arab companies have invested in India, particularly in telecom sector. On other hand, Indian companies are also investing in oil sector in West Asian nations. Now, coming to the defense ties. India is maintaining good defense relations with many West Asian nations. For example, India and Oman conduct a joint military exercise called Al-Najaf. It aims to enhance the defense cooperation between Indian army and royal army of Oman. In addition to this, India and UAE conducts bilateral naval exercise called Bilat. These two countries also conduct bilateral air force exercise called Desert Eagle. Apart from this, India also imports major defense equipment from Israel. Now, coming to the labor and migration. See, there are around 8 to 9 million Indians living in West Asia. They include doctors, technicians, engineers, IT experts, workers and domestic helpers. They mostly hail from Kerala and some others from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka and so on. See, the migrants have a specific impact upon Indian economy. As India is receiving huge amount of remittances from these migrants in West Asia. So, the impact of Gulf remittances on Indian economy is very significant. So, this is all about the relation between India and West Asia. With this, we conclude this discussion and let us move to the next topic. This article is taken from a foreign news page. It is about 8 another clash between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The people in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh were sheltered in basements to avoid bombings and war. In this context, let us quickly learn about Nagorno-Karabakh issue. See, the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is a long-standing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over this Nagorno-Karabakh region. It all started in early 1900s. See, in 1920, the Russian President Joseph Stalin conquered a large portion of Caucasus. See the map here. You will understand where the Caucasus region is. This region included Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Here, the Armenia is a Christian majority region. And Azerbaijan is a Muslim majority country. By the end of 1920, Armenia and Azerbaijan joined the Soviet Union. At this time, Joseph Stalin placed the region of Nagorno-Karabakh into Azerbaijan. This is where the root of conflict started. See this Nagorno-Karabakh region is an ethnic Armenian dominated region. But it is kept inside Azerbaijan. See the image here. You will understand it clearly. The Nagorno-Karabakh region is here inside Azerbaijan. But as we saw already, it is an Armenian dominated region. Obviously, the clashes between two ethnic groups started here. When the esterville USSR started to collapse in late 1990s, the Nagorno-Karabakhs regional parliament officially voted to become part of Armenia. But Azerbaijan refused this. So, the situation escalated into a separatist movement. And since then, Azerbaijan is trying to control this region. Now you may think how Armenia got involved into this. See the Armenia started supporting the separatist movement. There are two reasons for Armenian government to support Nagorno-Karabakh. One is the Nagorno-Karabakh region contains Armenian people. And the second reason is the region voted to join Armenia only. So, the Armenian government is packing the separatist movement there. And once Armenia and Azerbaijan declared independence from Moscow, a full-scale war started between the two countries in 1990s. As a result of war, many people died on both sides. And many people were displaced due to ethnic cleansing and massacres committed by both countries. So, Russia negotiated a ceasefire between the two countries in 1994. But before that itself, Armenian forces gained the control of Nagorno-Karabakh and areas adjacent to it. The Armenian separatist declared the region as Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous of blast. So, after this peace deal, Nagorno-Karabakh region remained a part of Azerbaijan. But it was governed by a separatist group of ethnic Armenians. Important thing to note here is that Armenian government does not recognize the region as an independent region. But it supports the region politically and militarily. So, what is the conclusion here? The clash between Armenia and Azerbaijan is due to territorial dispute. Since 1980, there were several instances of clashes between two countries. As we saw, Russia is also mediating between the two countries for many years. Also note that the peace talk between Armenia and Azerbaijan is mediated by organization for security and cooperation in Europe, which is also called Minsk Group. It is a body set up in 1992 and it is chaired by France, Russia and the United States. So, this is all about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Here Turkey is a close ally of Azerbaijan and it supports the Azerbaijan government because it is a Muslim majority country. And Russia is a close ally of Armenia, because the Russian base is situated in Armenia and both countries are members of collective security treaty organization CSTO, which is a military alliance headed by Russia. So, Turkey supports Azerbaijan and Russia supports Armenia. Interestingly, Russia and Turkey opposite sides in civil wars playing out in Syria and Libya also. But Russia is maintaining a good relation with Azerbaijan also and it supports arms to both countries. So, this is all about this news article discussion. Now, let us move to the next topic. Look at this news article. The news is that yesterday a special NIA court in Impal granted bail to five persons. They were arrested last week by Manipur police while they were traveling with arms and ammutation. See the five persons were arrested under provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967. So, this is all about the news. In this discussion, let us understand some points about Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Before that, let us look at the syllabus. In Prolims, this topic comes under Indian policy and governance. And in Mainz, this topic comes under GS paper too, under the topic of government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. So, this is the syllabus. See the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA Act was enacted in 1967. The Act was enacted to deal with unlawful activities like terrorism in the country. See this Act was imposed on individuals or associations or organizations when they carry out terrorist activities that affect the integrity and sovereignty of India. So, basically UAPA is an anti-terror legislation of India. Note that the enforcement body of this Act is National Investigation Agency, NIA. This NIA is India's Central Counter-Terrorism Agency and it functions under Ministry of Home Affairs. It was created in 2009 under National Investigation Agency Act 2008. Now, coming back to the UAPA Act. As we saw just now, UAPA mainly deals with unlawful activities. Now, what does the term unlawful activity means? According to the Act, the definition for unlawful activity is given here. So, this is the exact definition given in the Act. To put it in simple words, if any action of individual or organization that results in separation or if it disturbs the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, then it is termed as unlawful activity. Now, talking about the investigation process. According to UAPA, the investigation against unlawful activities shall be carried out by NIA officers who are in the rank of inspector and above. Note that if NIA officials want to seize the property of individuals, they need the approval of Director General of NIA. Now, coming to the time period of investigation. See, UAPA provides a certain time frame for investigation, unlike normal cases. In normal case, the police official should complete the investigation within 60 to 90 days. But when persons are arrested under UAPA, the investigation period is basically 180 days. This means that an accused person under UAPA can be detained for a period of 180 days. Note that the period of 180 days can be extended further with the permission of court. And till the investigation period, the accused cannot be granted bail. Now, talking about the punishment under the Act, the UAPA provides for punishment to individuals or organizations who take part in unlawful activities. They can be punished with imprisonment for up to 7 years and a fine can be imposed on them. So, this is all about the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967. So, we have seen the provisions of the Act. So, this is all about this discussion. Now, let us move to the next topic. Look at this news article here. The article talks about demand of opposition parties in parliament. The opposition parties demand an action against BJP MP who used abusive language against another MP in Lok Sabha. Moreover, at least four opposition parties have urged the speaker to refer the matter to Privilege Committee. So, this is the crux of the article given here. In this context, let us see about Parliamentary Privileges and the Privilege Committee from Prillim's point of view. See, first of all, what are parliamentary privileges? They are special rights or immunities or exemptions which are given to the members of parliament and also to the parliamentary committees and to the House as a whole. So, what is the basic objective of parliamentary privilege? This is to ensure their independence while working. The basic source of privileges is mentioned in the article 105 of our constitution and it is also mentioned in various conventional resolutions of parliament. Generally, the privileges are divided into two types, collective privileges that is enjoyed by the House as a whole. Then there is individual privileges which is given to individual members of the House. A breach of privilege means actions which obstruct the parliament or preventing the members from performing their duties. If there is a breach of privilege, then a motion can be raised by any member. Such motions are admitted by the chairman. Actually, there are two conditions based on which the breach of privilege motion is admitted. Firstly, the question should be restricted to specific matter which occurred recently. Secondly, the matter requires intervention of committee to uphold the privileges. If the speaker is satisfied, then he will refer it to privileges committee. Now, let us see about the privilege committee. The committee of privileges consists of 15 members in Lok Sabha and 10 members in Rajasabha. They are nominated by speaker or chairman depending on the House. In Rajasabha, the deputy chairman heads the privilege committee. This committee is of semi-judicial in nature. Now, let us look at the functions of the committee. Firstly, the committee examines every question of breach of privilege which are referred to it by the speaker or chairman. Secondly, it determines whether a breach of privilege is involved. Thirdly, it states the procedure to be followed by House while giving effect to its recommendations. Fourthly, the report of the committee is presented to the speaker and the speaker will pass the final orders. Then, another important function of the committee is that it will make preliminary inquiry and summits a report regarding disqualification of member on ground of defection. This is made when speaker or chairman referred the matter to the committee. So, this is all about privileges committee of parliament. Now, let us move to the next topic. Now, we have come to the prelims practice question discussion. Look at the first question. Lachin corridor recently seen in the news is an area of conflict between which of the following nations of the world? The correct answer is option A, Armenia and Azerbaijan. See, the Lachin corridor is an area of Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is a source of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. So, the correct answer is option A. Now, look at the second question. It is about Asian games. Consider the following statements about Asian games. The first-hour edition of Asian games held in New Delhi. Yes, this statement is correct. Israel was expelled from Asian games in 1981 due to political reasons. Yes, this statement is also correct. Cricket is going to be introduced in latest edition of Asian games 2023. This statement is incorrect because cricket became a medal sport in 2010 itself. So, the correct answer is option B, only two pairs. Now, look at the third question. It is about privilege committee. Look at the first statement. The privilege committee is present in Lux above only. This statement is incorrect as both houses of parliament have privilege committee. Look at the second statement. The committee is of semi-judicial in nature. Yes, this statement is correct. The committee can inquire into breach of privileges. Now, look at the third statement. No member of parliament is expelled since 1950 for the breach of privileges. This statement was incorrect. The then Prime Minister Indra Gandhi was expelled in 1978 when she got re-elected as MP from Karnataka for the breach of privilege. So, the third statement is incorrect. The first statement is incorrect and the third statement is incorrect. The only correct statement is option 2. So, the correct answer is option A, only one pair. Now, look at the fourth question. Which of the following agency of India is designated as Enforcement Body of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967? As we have seen in the discussion, the correct answer is option B, National Investigation Agency. This is the Enforcement Body of UAPA. Now, these are the main questions for you today. Interested aspirants can write the answer and post it in the comments section. Now, we have come to the end of the discussion. If you like the video, please share it with your friends. And don't forget to subscribe to Shankarai's YouTube channel. Thank you.