 Good evening aspirants. Welcome to the Hindu News Analysis session by Shankara S. Academy for the date 8th of January 2022. These are the list of news articles we will be discussing today. Without wasting time, let us take up the first news article for our discussion. Look at this editorial. This editorial talks about the importance of inclusive approach and political prioritization in forest management. This inclusive approach will help India achieve its pledge of achieving net zero carbon emissions by the year 2017. Do you remember when and where this pledge was made? Yes, you are right. It was made in COP26 Summit at Glasgow. Also, this inclusive approach will help to conserve the forest cover of India and thereby increase it to one third of the total area of the country. See, in this context, let us discuss in detail about the need for change in existing policies and some suggestions mentioned by the author in this editorial article. The syllabus regarding this discussion is highlighted here. Just go through it. Now, let us start the discussion. First of all, let us see what is the link between forest conservation and net zero target which India is planning to achieve by 2017. See, for understanding this, let us first have a brief look at the Warsaw Framework for Red Plus. Red Plus is a framework created by the UNFCCC Conference of Parties in the year 2013. It mainly focuses on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. So, by implementing this framework, they say the national governments can reduce human pressure on forest. What is the benefit in doing so? See, the direct benefit is reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at the national level. See, first let us discuss some basics only then we can understand the benefit associated with it. Okay, look at this image. It shows the carbon cycle. From this, we can observe that the plants are the natural carbon sequesters. Now, what does this carbon sequester mean? See, carbon sequesters are nothing but those that help in the capture of CO2 from the atmosphere. They capture the CO2 from the atmosphere and they store it with them. So, plants naturally capture CO2 from the atmosphere and store the carbon in its roots and stems. This process is called carbon sequestration. Also, you can observe from the image that plant degradation, that is organic decomposition of plants, increases the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere. So, the Red Plus framework talks about sustainable management of forest, which will enhance the forest carbon stocks. But what is the problem here? Although this framework provides complete methodological and financing guidance, it is only voluntary. This is a problem at the international level. Thus, as a solution to this, strict implementation of Red Plus framework must be ensured in order to achieve the aim with which it was created, that is to increase the forest carbon stocks. Now, having done with Red Plus, now let us discuss why India needs to revisit its policy framework. For this, we need to understand what is the issue in the existing policy. So, first let us know some data from the Indian State of Forest report. The Indian State of Forest report is published by the Forest Survey of India, which is under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. See, the forest in India are classified into dense forest, moderately dense forest, open forest, scrub and non-forest in the Indian State of Forest report. Look at the description for each of the forest here. You can just go through it. See, the forest in India are mapped into three classes, that is, very dense forest, moderately dense forest and open forest based on their canopy density. This table highlights the amount of forest under these categories. And note that this data is taken from the Indian State of Forest report 2019. Now, let us see what is the issue here. See, India claims that it increased its forest cover by 15,000 square kilometres in the last six years. As per the State of Forest report 1989, the country had 25,409 square kilometres, that is, 7.83% of its geographical area under the open forest category. Now, what is open forest? Open forest is a land with three canopy density of 10% or more but less than 40%. See, the issue here is, in 30 years, that is from 1989 to 2019, this category of forest, that is, the open category of forest, has increased to 3,4499 square kilometres, that is, 9.26% of the total land area. This means every year on average, nearly 1.57 lakh hectares of forest are degraded. Okay, this is the issue. There is continuous degradation of existing forest. This degradation highlights the presence of anthropogenic pressures including encroachment, grazing, fire, etc. Thus, India is witnessing some enormous degradation of forest and deforestation. Now, let me explain how this forest degradation is affecting the carbon stocks. Look at this image. This image shows the carbon pools. It is clear that when forest degradation occurs, the carbon pools are also reduced. Thereby, we can say that carbon stocks are also continuously getting reduced. Now, let us see some provisions from the National Forest Policy 1988. See, through this policy, local communities are engaged with the concept of care and share. This means people participate in protecting and managing forest and mending the wasteland. So, in order to make this participatory approach operative, efforts were made by the introduction of the concept of forest development agencies. So, this resulted in the formation of nearly 1.18 lakh joint forest management committees which managed over 25 million hectares of forest area. Also, this paved the way for fund flow from various other sources to the joint forest management committees. Know that most of these committees became active and operative in implementing various projects financed by external agencies like World Bank. Not only this, there is another provision in the National Forest Policy. The National Forest Policy 1988 helps in the participatory approach of forest conservation. This is the social forestry program. The main task of the social forestry circle was to carry out afforestation program in the areas outside the government control forest area, which include reserve forest, protected forest, wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. See, in case of national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves, the ecological development committees effectively protect and develop biodiversity. But there is a lot of restriction put on people. The problem here is that local institutions like Gram Panchayats is restricted to be a consultative institution instead of being partners in planning and implementation. This affects the harmony between forest department and the village communities, thereby endangering the protection of forest. Know what is the solution for this issue? See, the first solution is encouraging social forestry program to increase the forest or the tree cover in India sustainably. Here, the concept of joint forest management can be stressed. In addition to this, local communities must be appropriately incentivized. This is the first solution. The second solution is ensuring the flow of fund for restoration activities, because without proper funding, nothing can be achieved. The third and the most important solution is to ensure adequate participation of local people in planning and implementation through local institutions. For all this to happen, the government need to revisit our existing legal and policy mechanism regarding forest conservation. Finally, let us see a state government which has set an example in the forest conservation by making some legal amendments. As an example to other states, the Telangana government amended the Panjayati and Municipal Act for environmental concern. They created a provision for a green fund or Telangana Haritha Nidhi. See, this fund is for tree planting and related activities. This fund should be supported by enabling financial and institutional support. The main focus is to incentivize local communities to boost efforts to conserve and develop forest resources. It is to be noted that India is not a signatory of the Glasgow leaders declaration on forest and land use, but in order to protect our own rich and precious biological diversity and to lead in the race towards net zero target, it is important to encourage community participation along with accelerated financial aid. This is all about this editorial. See, in this segment, we discussed about the need for revisiting India's policies and mechanisms regarding forest conservation. We also brushed up some important points from the Red Plus framework, the India State of Forest report and the National Forest Policy 1988. Also, we saw some suggestions provided by the author. The suggestions are participation of local and indigenous communities, strengthening of joint forest management and finally, decentralization of the forest governance. With this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Look at this news article. This article mentions the statement made by Delhi government regarding marital rape laws. Currently, Delhi High Court is hearing petitions seeking criminalization of marital rape and here, Delhi government has said that it is already covered under Indian Penal Code. So today, let us understand what is marital rape, its status in India and whether IPC covers it or not. The syllabus regarding this discussion is highlighted here. Just go through it. Now, let us start the discussion. First, know that marital rape refers to rape committed when the perpetrator is the victim's spouse. So it is an intimate partner crime and in the Indian context, most often the victim is the wife and the perpetrator is the husband. But as you can see, it is still a rape. Otherwise, in its terminology itself, it would have been mentioned as sexual intercourse between married couple, which is a result of love. And as you are aware, IPC defines rape as a sexual intercourse or sexual penetration when there is a lack of consent. So an essential ingredient to prove the crime of rape is to prove the lack of consent. According to the Indian Penal Code, consent means an unequivocal voluntary agreement communicated by the woman about her willingness to participate in the specific sexual act. Such a communication could be by words, gesture or any form of verbal or non-verbal communication. This is where the problem lies because this burden to prove the lack of consent often rests on the victim. But remember, in the case of minors that is children under the age of 18, it is presumed that the consent does not exist. Why? Because by law, children are presumed to be incapable of consenting to such sexual acts. So consent is immaterial when the assault is against a child, but there is also instances where consent is presumed to exist. This presumption exists when the victim and the perpetrator are married. This presumption is the result of patriarchy. Therefore, in countries like India, the idea of marital rape is seen as antithetical to the presumed So, often forced sexual assault is committed by the husband on the wife. And it totally goes against the fact that sexual intercourse among married couples should be an act of love and to be based on respect, equality and with consent and care. Here, not only coercion is used to commit marital rape, but the woman is also subjected to verbal threats or physical violence by the husbands. So, marital rape affects women physically and mentally. It may lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, eating disorders and also suicidal thoughts among women. Now, coming back to the question whether Indian laws address marital rape or not. First of all, IPC does criminalize offence of rape under section 375. As you can see here, both sexual intercourse and other sexual penetrations such as oral sex is brought under the definition of rape. But the issue lies in the exception to this section 375. This is called the exception clause. The exception mentions the sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife is not rape unless the wife is under the age of 15 years of age. This means if the wife is not under 15 years of age and above this age, then it will not be amounted to rape. So, we can say that protection to married female partners exists in the Indian Penal Code, but only to married girl children under 15 years of age. Shockingly, this is already child marriage. So, it is punishable under the prohibition of child marriage act 2006 and the protection of children from sexual offences act 2012. So, the Indian Penal Code neglects all the women who are 15 years or above. Even after more than 70 years of independence, Indian parliament has not corrected this flaw. Because of this reason only, many say that Indian law does not criminalize marital rape. We can also agree that the Indian Penal Code only partially criminalizes marital rape. First, when the wife is below 15 years of age under the Indian Penal Code, this is punishable with up to 10 years of imprisonment, which may be extended to life with or without a fine. Second is under section 376b. See, the section 376b deals with a specific form of marital rape. That is the marital rape committed when the women and children are living separately on the account of judicial separation or otherwise. The punishment under section 376b is 2 to 7 years of imprisonment with or without a fine. Due to this partial criminalization of marital rape, many petitions have been filed to fully criminalize marital rape covering all ages of women and all forms of marital rape. So, while dealing with this petition, court should remember the suggestion given by Justice J.S. Verma committee formed in 2012. The committee report is called report of the committee on amendments to criminal law or simply J.S. Verma committee. Ultimately, the committee advocated criminalization of marital rape and recommended to delete the exception clause that we discussed. We can conclude from the discussion that marriage does not mean there is irrevocable consent for sexual intercourse and a regressive act like marital rape cannot be used to ensure the stability of marriage. Now, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Look at this news article. This article says that the issue price for the next tranche of sovereign gold bond scheme 2021-22 has been fixed by the RBI at Rs. 4786 rupees per gram and the Government of India has decided to offer a discount of Rs. 50 per gram. This discount will be given to investors applying online and the payments made through digital mode. With this article as a context, let us understand this sovereign gold bond scheme and the important details related to the scheme. See, the sovereign gold bond scheme was launched by the government in November 2015 under the gold monetization scheme. Under the scheme, the issues are made open for subscription in tranches by RBI in consultation with the Government of India. See, in simple terms, sovereign gold bonds are government securities denominated in grams of gold. They are substitutes for golding physical gold. Investors have to pay the issue price in cash and the bonds will be redeemed in cash on maturity. The bond is issued by the Reserve Bank of India on behalf of the Government of India. The tenor of the bond will be a period of eight years with exit option in fifth, sixth and seventh year. Now, you may all ask the question, why should one buy these bonds instead of physical gold? See, these bonds come with certain benefits. Let us first see what the benefits are. The first thing is that the quantity of gold for which the investor pays is protected. This is because he will receive the on-going market price at the time of redemption. The second important advantage is that the sovereign gold bond offers a superior alternative to holding gold in physical form. See, the risk associated with the physical forms and the cost of storage of physical gold are eliminated in case of sovereign gold bonds. The third main advantage is that investors are assured of market value of gold at the time of maturity. In addition to this, the investors get a periodical interest of 2.5% per annum, which is an added advantage. The fourth important advantage is that the sovereign gold bond is free from issues like making charges and purity in case of gold in jewelry form. This benefit makes the bonds more attractive to common men. And the final advantage is that the bonds are held in the books of the RBI or in DMAT form, eliminating the risk of loss of grip. See, these are some major advantages associated with the sovereign gold bonds. Now, let us see the eligibility for the scheme and the limit prescribed by the scheme. See, persons resident in India as defined by the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 are eligible to invest in sovereign gold bond. Eligible investors include individuals, Hindu undivided families, trusts, universities and charitable institutions. Individual institutions with subsequent change in residential status from resident to non-resident may continue to hold the sovereign gold bond till early redemption or maturity. Generally, the bonds are issued in denomination of 1 gram of gold and in multiples thereof. The minimum investment in the bond shall be 1 gram with the maximum limit of subscription of 4 kgs for individuals, 4 kgs for Hindu undivided families and 20 kgs for trusts and similar entities notified by the government. Now, finally, we will see some concerns regarding the sovereign gold bonds. One of the main concerns is the maturity period. See, the 8-year maturity period may make a lot of investors uninterested in gold bonds. The next important concern is that, as the value of bond is closely associated to the price of gold on the international market, the investment in sovereign gold bond may result in capital loss. However, gold is a valuable commodity and the government is committed to ensuring that its price remains constant. To recap, in this segment, we saw some important points regarding the sovereign gold bond scheme and some advantages and disadvantages associated with the scheme. With this, let us conclude our discussion and take up the next news article. See this article here. It is about sustainable natural farming adopted in Rajasthan. According to the Chief Minister's Economic Transformation Advisory Council, it has created new livelihood sources and food security to the indigenous tribal communities. It is found that the system enabled the farmers to meet their daily food necessities by growing fruits and vegetables. This has reduced the tribal's dependence on the market. Sustainable natural farming also increased the nutritional status of the local population. See, the Chief Minister's Economic Transformation Advisory Council visited the village to study the technique so that it can be applied to other villages also. So, this is the crux of the news article here. With this as a background, we are going to see some important points about sustainable farming. First of all, what is sustainable farming? We know that agriculture places significant pressure on natural resources and the environment. So, the sustainable agricultural practices mainly focus on protecting the environment, expanding earth's natural resource base, and maintain and improve the soil fertility. See, this is a crude definition of sustainable agriculture. Okay, now we shall see some of the advantages of sustainable agriculture. This is the first one. See, sustainable agriculture contributes to the conservation of environment. It helps to restore the quality of the land as well as other natural resources such as water and air. By adopting sustainable practices, farmers will reduce their reliance on non-renewable energy, reduce chemical use, and save scarce resources. See, know that population and demand for food will continue to raise in the future. Okay, here I have to add a famous statement by Thomas Malthus. He said that population will raise in geometric progression, but the fruit production can only increase by arithmetic progression. So, the replenishment of natural resources ensured by sustainable agriculture will help sustain life for future generations. The next important advantage of sustainable agriculture is public health safety. See, sustainable agriculture avoids hazardous pesticides and fertilizers. As a result, farmers are able to produce fruits, vegetables, and other crops that are safer for the consumers, the workers, and the surrounding communities. Through careful and proper management of livestock waste, sustainable farmers can protect humans from exposure to pathogens, toxins, and other hazardous pollutants. Now, the third one. See, it prevents air pollution also. I will tell you how. See, agriculture activities affect air quality by smoke from agricultural burning, dust from tillage, traffic, and harvest, pesticide drift from spraying, and nitrous oxide emission from the use of nitrogen fertilizers. In sustainable agriculture, there are options to improve air quality by incorporating crop residue into the soil and using appropriate level of tillage and planting windbreakers and cover crops to reduce dust. By adopting all these simple techniques, sustainable agriculture directly and indirectly reduces air pollution. The fourth one now. It prevents land degradation. See, our excessive application of chemical fertilizers and excessive use of irrigation has affected the soil. Even in India, though green revolution provided us with adequate food, it affected our soil. This is the case with places like Punjab, Haryana, and Tamil Nadu. Sustainable agriculture helps prevent all that. Practices of sustainable farming like reducing or eliminating tillage, managing irrigation to reduce runoff, and keeping the soil covered with plants or mulch will help ensure there is no soil erosion, and also help prevent land degradation. Okay, now look at the final advantage. That is social equality. You will wonder how social equality is connected to agriculture. See, practicing sustainable agricultural techniques benefits the workers as they are offered more money because of the quality of the products they produced. They also work in humane and fair working conditions, which include a safe work environment, food and adequate living conditions. So, in essence, sustainable agriculture is ethical in nature also. See, these are the major advantages of sustainable agriculture, and we shall see some minor advantages here also. See, sustainable agriculture helps in cost reduction due to cost-effective farming practices, and sustainable livestock management, which is associated with sustainable agriculture, helps in ensuring better care for the livestock. And finally, sustainable agriculture also has economic benefits. See, sustainable agriculture requires less labor, so the profits that farmers can derive from this type of agriculture is high. Finally, to recap, see, in this segment, we saw some major advantages associated with sustainable agriculture. With this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Look at this article. This article is about the seizure of leopard skins by the Special Task Force of Odisha's Police Crime Branch. It says that the Special Task Force has seized four such cases in the last 10 days. According to Special Task Force, a special drive has been launched against wildlife criminals and poachers. And based on that, they have seized 25 leopard skins, 13 elephant tusks, 7 deer skins, 9 live pangolins and more than 16 kg of pangolin skins. They have arrested 55% on charge of crime against wildlife. So, with this article as a context, in this discussion, we are going to learn about poaching in India. First of all, what is poaching? Poaching is the illegal trafficking and killing of wildlife. Sometimes animals or plant pods are sold as trophies or folk medicines and sometimes they are sold as pets or house plants. Now, what is the status of poaching in India? See, India has an immense amount of biodiversity and as a result, India has become a hard spot for poaching. Illegal wildlife trafficking in India has become more organized and sophisticated as the wealth and technology in the trade has increased. This practice of poaching in India has a history. See, the history of large game poaching dates back to the 16th century. Poaching of animals began as a tradition in India when the Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar fell in love with the sport. From then on, the practice was perceived as a royal activity and was a sign of power and wealth. Furthermore, the belief that tiger necklaces bring the wearer power and good luck and certain animal bones or horns having magical medical properties that cure variety of diseases has encouraged poaching in India and due to this, poaching has become a huge trade in India. Now, we will look at some main species that are targeted for illegal wildlife traffic in India and we will also see why these species are targeted. First, let us take pickets that is tigers, leopards and snow leopards. They are mainly poached for their skin and bones. Secondly, let us take elephants. Elephants are mainly poached for their ivory and the elephant tail hair. For consumers, ivory and elephant tail hair are a symbol of wealth and power. See, unlike African elephants, only males bear tusk in Indian elephant population. This means poaching is reducing the gender ratio among Indian elephants. Thirdly, let us take rhinos. See, poaching of rhinos is one of the major environmental issue in India's northeastern state of Assam. The demand for their bones doesn't come from India but from India's southeast neighbors like Vietnam and China. Recent urban myths associated with the rhino bones like its power to cure cancer, relieve hangover and enhance male virility is driving its demand. This is resulting in rhino poaching. Fourthly, let us take turtles and tortoises. They are mainly poached for their meat and they are also sold as pets. See, star tortoises, that is the Indian star tortoises, is one of the most demanded species on the international pet market. Finally, let us take pangolins. See, pangolins are most likely the most trafficked mammals in the planet. This is because every part of the animal is highly valuable from its scale to its blood. So, to recap in this discussion we saw about poaching, its status in India and finally we saw some important points about species that are poached in India and why they are poached. With these points in mind, let us conclude this discussion and move on to the next news article. Look at this news article. This is the last article we will be discussing today. See, this news article talks about GDP estimated for the year 2022. This is estimated by the National Statistical Office. This time, the NSO estimated GDP growth of 9.2%. So, in this context, let us learn about NSO, why and how it is formed and its current status. See, the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation has two wings, one relating to statistics and the other relating to program implementation. Today, our focus is only on statistics wing. See, the statistics wing was re-designated as National Statistical Office in the year 2019. It consists within itself the Central Statistical Office and the National Samples Survey Office. See, this Central Statistics Office is an attached office and the National Samples Survey Office is a subordinate office under the control of Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation. Now, we will see why and how this NSO was formed. See, there were controversies regarding the function of India's official statistical system. So, the government decided to merge the CSO and the NSSO under the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation into a single entity. This new merged entity was named as the National Statistical Office. So, from then on, NSO is serving as an executive wing of the government in the field of statistics. The sole functionary of NSO is the Chief Statistician of India who is also the Secretary of Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation. Note that in the restructuring exercise of the Indian statistical system, the administrative coordination and the planning activities of the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation have also been brought into the National Statistical Office or the NSO. Now, we will see some points about CSO and the NSSO. First, let us start with Chief Statistical Office or the CSO. The main responsibility assigned to CSO is to bring about coordination and statistical office among various statistical agencies in the central government and the statistical bureaus of the state government. See, these statistical bureaus were set up for the similar coordination of activities of statistical agencies at the state level. Now, we will see about National Sample Survey Office or the NSSO. The main responsibility assigned to NSSO is to collect data on varied socio-economic subjects through nationwide sample surveys to create and update database. This database can be used in policy formation, program implementation, program evaluation, research and public debate and economic and administrative decisions for national development. See, this NSSO functions under the overall guidance of the National Statistical Commission. Thus, it is clear that National Statistical Office headed by the Chief Statistician of India and the Secretary of Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has appropriate autonomy and independence for producing official statistics. Now, we will see some points discussed in the news article. See, the NSSO estimated GDP is only marginally lower than the Reserve Bank of India's projection, which is 9.5%. And compared to the pre-COVID performance of financial year 2020, this advanced estimates project a raise of 1.3% of GDP and 1.9% in gross value added in the financial year 2022. These NSSO estimates have utilized available information up to the month ranging from September to December 2021. Thus, the upcoming adverse impact of COVID-3 wave on the economy is not fully incorporated in these estimates. So, there is a possibility for a fall of 20 base points from the growth rate of 2020-21-2022. And this will be estimated in the second advanced estimates of the NSSO. This is all about the news article. With this, let us conclude the article discussion session and take up the practice prelims questions. Look at this question. This question is about national mission for sustainable agriculture. They have given two statements. We have to find which of the statements are correct. Now, let us take up the first statement. National mission for sustainable agriculture is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. See, this statement is correct because national mission on sustainable agriculture derives its mandate from the sustainable agricultural mission, which is one of the eight missions outlined under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. See, the national mission on sustainable agriculture aims at promoting sustainable agriculture through a series of adaptation measures focusing on 10 key dimensions encompassing Indian agriculture, namely improved crop seeds, improved livestock, improved fish culture, water use efficiency, best management, improved farm practices, nutrition management, agricultural insurance, credit support, market access, access to information, and livelihood diversification. Now, let us take up the second statement. Soil health management is one of the components of national mission for sustainable agriculture. See, this statement is also correct. The components of national mission on sustainable agriculture includes rainfed area development, submission on agroforestry, national bamboo mission, soil health management, climate change and sustainable agriculture, monitoring, modeling, and networking. These are the components of national mission on sustainable agriculture. See, the soil health management aims at promoting location as well as crop specific sustainable soil health management including residue management and organic farm practices. So, since both the statements given here are correct, the correct answer is option C 1 and 2. Okay, no moving on to the second question. This question is regarding Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Here also two statements are given. We have to find which of the statements are correct. Let us take up the first statement. The Act involves protection and regulation of animals only and it does not include regulation of plants. See, this statement is wrong because the Schedule 6 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 deals with the prohibition of cultivation of certain plants without permission. Some examples are blue vanda, red vanda, lady's slipper orchid and a picture plant. Now, let us take up the second statement. Pangerine is protected under Schedule 1 of the Act. See, this statement is correct. Actually, the Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act includes animals which are offered highest form of protection. They are protected from hunting, poaching and trading. And pangolin is one among the animals which is in the Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. So, since statement one is incorrect and statement two is correct, the correct answer is option B 2 only. Now, let us take up the third question. This question is regarding Indian Penal Code. It is also a two-statement question. We have to find the correct statements. Let us take up the first statement. Sexual intercourse or sexual acts without consent between a man and his wife is not right. See, this statement may appear correct but actually it is incorrect because from our discussion we know that as per the ISPC, mainly the exception class under Section 375, if the wife is below the age of 15 years, sexual intercourse or sexual acts without consent will amount to rape. So, the statement one is incorrect. Now, let us take up the second statement. The offense of rape is defined under Section 375 of Indian Penal Code. See, this statement is correct because the offense of rape is defined under Section 375 and the punishment for rape is defined under Section 376. So, the correct answer is option B 2 only. Now, let us take up the fourth question. This question is regarding sovereign gold bonds. Here also, two statements are given. We have to find the correct statements. Let us take up the first statement. The gold bonds are issued by the Government of India. See, this statement is wrong because from our discussion we saw that sovereign gold bonds are government securities which are denominated in grams of gold. The bonds are issued by Reserve Bank on behalf of Government of India. Note here that the bonds are issued by Reserve Bank of India and the tenor for the bond will be a period of eight years with exit options in fifth, sixth and the seventh year. Now, let us see the second statement. The maximum limit for individuals investing in the bond is 2 kg. See, this statement is also incorrect because from our statement, we know that the upper limit for individuals is 4 kgs and the upper limit for Hindu undivided families is also 4 kgs and in case of trust and similar entities, the upper limit is 20 kgs since both the statements are incorrect, the correct answer is option D, neither one nor two. Now, let us take up the fifth question. This question is regarding classification of forest according to the Indian State of Forest report. Pairs are given. We have to find which of the pairs are correctly matched. Here, the first and the second pairs are correctly matched because very dense forest includes lands with tree canopy density of 70% and above and open forest includes all lands with tree canopy density of 10% and more but less than 40%. But the third pair is wrong because non-forests are lands that are not included in the above classes and the forest land with canopy cover less than 10% comes under curbs. So, the correct answer is option C, none and two only. This is the last problem's question. This is a three-statement question regarding national statistics office. Let us take up the first statement. It is under the Ministry of Finance. This statement is wrong because from our discussion, we saw that it is under Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation. Look at the second statement. It is formed by the merger of CSO and NSSO. This statement is correct. From our discussion, we saw that NSO is formed by the merger of CSO and NSSO in 2019. Now look at the third statement. It has appropriate autonomy and independence for producing official statistics. This statement is also correct. So, since the first statement is wrong and the second and third statements are correct, the correct answer is option C, two and three only. The main question based on today's discussion is here. Write the answer and post it in the comment section. If you like today's discussion, like, comment and share it with your friends. And for more updates regarding UPSC preparation, subscribe to Shankar A.S. Academy YouTube channel. Thank you.