 Good evening aspirants. We are happy to inform you that we are starting the next pre-feed batch. This batch is titled pre-feed rapid. The entrance exam will be conducted on 28th March 2022. The entrance exam time will be from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm. The entrance exam can be attempted in both online and offline modes. For people wishing to take the entrance exam offline, you can take the entrance exam in all Shankar A.S. Academy centres. The program starts on 28th March 2022. In order to facilitate students, there are morning and evening batches in both online and offline formats. The course duration is from 28th March to 29th May. You will be having a total number of 45 tests. This includes 3 mock tests as well. The course fees for pre-feed general is Rs.2,499. This includes GST. And the course fees for pre-feed with scholarship based on performance in entrance exam is Rs.1,250 including GST. For more information and for registration for pre-feed rapid, please use the link given in the description. With this happy announcement, let us start the Hindu News Analysis Discussion session by Shankar A.S. Academy for the date 12th March 2022. Displayed here are the list of news articles we will be covering today. Now let us get into our discussion. Look at this editorial article. This editorial talks about India's energy policy. But the authors of this editorial says that India should revisit its energy policy. They are of the opinion that India's energy policy is unsound and unsustainable. They specifically criticized India's nuclear energy policy. The editorial has mentioned about the disadvantages of nuclear power, both in environmental and economical spheres. See, this is an important article in Maine's perspective. Just look at this UPSC Maine's question from 2018. The points we are about to discuss in this discussion can be used to address this question. See, in this discussion we will focus on what is a nuclear disaster. Then we will see some recent examples. Then we will see about India's plan for nuclear power. Following this, we will see the disadvantages of nuclear power. Then finally we will see few advantages of nuclear power. And we will end the discussion with a balance to opinion. Before starting the discussion, I have highlighted here the syllabus regarding this discussion. You can go through it. Now let us start the discussion. First, let us see what is a nuclear disaster. According to International Atomic Energy Agency, a nuclear and radiation accident is defined as an event that has led to a significant consequences to people, environment or the facility. The consequence may be lethal effects to individuals, large radioactivity released to the environment or reactor core meltdown. The prime example of a major nuclear accident, the one in which a reactor core got damaged and significant amount of radiation was released is the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. See, there is an awesome HBO miniseries titled Chernobyl. It is available in Hotstar. If you find time, please do watch. It is a very well crafted and a very gripping series. I like it because it showed the importance of transparency in governance. Okay, enough with the discussion. Let us get back into the discussion. Now, let me give you another example. The Fukushima nuclear plant disaster, which occurred 11 years ago on March 11, 2011. During this, multiple reactors in the nuclear power plant suffered severe accident after an earthquake and a tsunami. These reactors were quickly shut down following the earthquake. But the radioactive cores continued producing heat and eventually melted down because the tsunami knocked out the cooling system of the nuclear power plant. To know more about the importance of the cooling system, see the last episode of the Chernobyl series, where Velary Lagasov of the Krishchatov Institute of Atomic Energy explains about the series of incidents that happened and which eventually led to the Chernobyl disaster. During his testimony, Velary, in a very simplified manner, explains about the balance that has to be maintained for the safe functioning of the nuclear power plant. Cooling system is an important component to maintain the balance in the nuclear power plant. Okay, now coming back. See, recently a similar event would have occurred in Ukraine's Zaporizhya nuclear plant. Yes, if the fire that broke out here the nuclear power plant affected the cooling system, the plant's power supply or its spent fuel pool, a major disaster could have occurred. These are some examples of recent nuclear accidents. Now let us briefly see about India's plans for nuclear power. See, India plans to build 21 new nuclear power reactors, that is including 10 indigenously designed pressurized heavy water reactors. Note that these reactors are designed with a combined generating capacity of 15,700 MW. According to the Department of Atomic Energy, this will be brought into operation by 2031. Here note that India is currently on the second stage of its ambitious nuclear program. The country is planning to construct 12 new nuclear power plant reactors by 2024 itself. See, to counter climate change, India is planning to invest heavily on nuclear power in the future. The nuclear power, though it does not produce greenhouse gas, has some disadvantages associated with it. Now let us see a few disadvantages of nuclear power. First, let us start with the environmental impact. Although nuclear power plant released zero carbon emission, nuclear power still has a substantial impact on environment, mainly through mining and water discharge. See, uranium used to produce nuclear energy has to be mined. Mining of any kind has a negative impact on the surrounding area. Uranium mining in particular is known for releasing arsenic and radon. See, arsenic and radon has a negative impact on the health of those living around nuclear mines. Okay, another environmental impact includes the thermal pollution caused by the nuclear power plants that is located near water bodies like lakes or ocean. See, nuclear power plants located near water bodies use the water bodies to cool the steam that is used in the nuclear power production. During this process, the water gets heated up. This hot water is again released back into the water body. This causes thermal pollution in the nearby water body, which may be a lake or a ocean. This is the next major environmental impact of the nuclear power plant. Finally, the disposal of waste generator, which is highly radioactive, is a huge headache. For safe disposal of nuclear waste, huge investments have to be made. Even after this, it is difficult to ensure the 100% safe disposal of nuclear waste. See, these are the main disadvantages of nuclear power in the environmental sphere. Now coming to the economical sphere. See, economic functioning of nuclear power is not very sound. Consider the reactors cost. See, nuclear power plants are very expensive. They cost billions of dollars to be built. Here, consider the example of Jaitapur nuclear power project. Jaitapur nuclear power project is a proposed nuclear power plant in Maharashtra. This plant, which is proposed to be the largest nuclear power plant in India, will have 6 EPR, that is 6 European pressurized reactor in it. In 2013, it was estimated that the construction of the plant will amount to 15 billion dollars. To give you a perspective, the GDP of the entire country of Botswana is just 17 billion dollars. So, the plant is very costly to build. When constructed at such a huge cost, the cost of electricity from Jaitapur nuclear power plant would cost at least 15 rupees per unit. This 15 rupees is without accounting for transmission cost. When transmission costs are also included, the cost of power produced by the Jaitapur nuclear power plant would be even higher. See, given the cost escalation from 2013 to 2022, the 15 billion dollars is most likely an underestimate. In 2022 estimates, the cost of the plant would be even more higher. Now compare that figure with the recent low bids for 2 rupees 14 paisa per unit for solar power and 2 rupees 34 paisa per unit for solar wind hybrid projects. In a sense, the cost of power produced by solar power plants and solar wind hybrid projects is about 7 times lower than the cost of power produced by nuclear power plants. With higher adoption of solar power, the cost of power produced by solar power is bound to go only lower in the future. So, for nuclear electricity to be sold at competitive rate, it would have to be greatly subsidized by the Indian government. This will only increase the subsidy burden of the government. This is the major disadvantage of nuclear power plant in the economical sphere. The next major disadvantage is in regards to nuclear reactor safety. Look at this map here. The map shows the location of various nuclear reactors in India and the corresponding seismic zone in which it is located. If you notice, only Rawatbata nuclear power plant in Rajasthan is located in seismic zone 2 which is least prone to earthquake. All other nuclear power plants are located in areas that have some probability of earthquake activity. So, even after taking all the safety precautions using latest technology, if an earthquake occurs, a Fukushima type disaster might occur. So, ensuring reactor safety is a major disadvantage. Next disadvantage is in regards to nuclear proliferation. See, reprocessing spent fuel gives raise to plutonium-239. Plutonium-239 is a fissile material which can be used in building nuclear pumps. The next major disadvantage is in regards to liability in case of nuclear accident. See, under pressure from multinational manufacturers, India's liability law already largely protects only the nuclear equipment manufacturers. Even after making so many concessions in the liability law, the nuclear industry objects to the small window of opportunity available for the Indian government to hold them accountable in case of a nuclear accident. Okay? Due to this, the common public are of the view that the nuclear equipment manufacturers do not believe in their own claims about how safe their reactors are. See, if they actually believed in their claims, the nuclear equipment manufacturers should have been willing to accept responsibility of any failures rather than insisting on special legal arrangement that is not available for any other industry. Okay? See, these are some disadvantages associated with nuclear power. Note here that these types of accidents that we saw in the discussion are very rare. Plus, many scientific studies show that fossil fuel industry is substantially more deadly than nuclear industry due to its contribution to global warming. Now, we will see a few advantages of nuclear energy. First is that nuclear energy is a clean energy. This is because when you take coal, it emits greenhouse gas, whereas nuclear power does not lead to greenhouse gas emission. Hence, nuclear power helps in achieving the net zero target of India. Secondly, it helps India achieve energy security. See, India is the fourth largest energy consumer in the world. Even after investing so much in electricity production, India continues to remain energy poor. So, through nuclear power, the energy needs of the country can be achieved. So, we can understand that nuclear power is one of the important ways to satisfy the needs of power in India. But while expanding the nuclear power plants, the government has to strongly ensure whether the following measures are taken. Firstly, continuous maintenance of effective safety regulation has to be ensured. Secondly, the maintenance of the skill base has to be ensured. Thirdly, the international non-proliferation agreement has to be maintained and reinforced. Fourthly, the facilities for waste disposal and management must be given serious consideration. So, if proper safety precautions are taken, nuclear power can supplement India's energy mix. That is regarding this discussion. See, in this discussion we saw what is a nuclear disaster, then we saw few examples like Chernobyl, then we saw about India's plan for nuclear power. Finally we saw the disadvantages of nuclear power and then we saw few advantages of nuclear policy and ended with a balanced way forward. See friends and aspirants utilize these points that we saw in the discussion to enrich your main sensor. Now with this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Look at this news article. The news article mentions that Russia is keen on increasing its oil and petroleum products exports to India. This decision of Russia comes at a time when it is facing sanctions from major oil buyers which includes USA and its allies in European Union. By taking this opportunity, we are going to discuss about India's petroleum resource and the countries we import oil from. See, as you know, petroleum is a natural resource and a fuel mineral. Here, Petra means rock and Oryum means oil. It is named so because petroleum is mined from between rocks under the earth and it is drilled from oil fields located in offshore areas and coastal areas. See, petroleum is also called mineral oil or crude oil. Plus, it is an exhaustible natural resource. That is, it is a non-renewable natural resource. It is limited in nature and it can be exhausted by human activities. And from this petroleum only, we are obtaining petroleum, diesel and other important fuels. From the exam perspective, know that the main oil producing countries are Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. The other major producers include USA, Russia, Canada, Venezuela and Algeria. See, with respect to India, according to a recent data by the Indian Bureau of Mines as of April 2020, the recoverable reserves of crude oil were estimated at 603 million metric tons. And among this, around 55% is from onshore areas, which is 331 million metric tons. Here, the sedimentary rocks on the western and eastern flanks of Peninsula have most of the petroleum deposits in India. This mainly includes Gujarat and Assam. See, in Gujarat, specifically in the Cambay basin, the petroleum production accounts for 19.5% of India's total petroleum production. In Gujarat, Uncle Eswar is the most important oil fields. The other oil fields are Kalol, Mexana, Navagam, Kosamba and Lunaj. Next is Assam-Arkan basin. Here, in Assam, the important oil fields include Digboy, Nahar-Katya, Moran, Hagarijan, Rudrasagar, Geliki, Angui and Lakua fields. Among these, Digboy was the only oil producing area till 1956. This is why Assam is the oldest oil producing state in India. And it accounts for 25% of India's petroleum production. The Karsang and Kumchai oil fields in Arunachal Pradesh also comes in the Assam-Arkan basin. See, there is also oil resource in Rajasthan also. The major oil fields in Rajasthan include Barmer-Sanchor basin, namely Gudda, Saraswathi, Kameshwari and Mangala. In addition to this, India also has offshore oil fields. They account for 272 million metric tons. The offshore oil fields in India accounts for 45% of India's total petroleum resource. The most important offshore oil field is Bombay-Hai or Mumbai-Hai. It is obviously in Mumbai, but it is an offshore region in the Arabian Sea. As you can see in the map, it lies 160 km of Mumbai coast. The Mumbai-Hai or Bombay-Hai was discovered in 1973 and the petroleum production commenced in 1976. Then in recent years, new oil deposits have been found on the eastern coast, that is in the Krishna-Godawari basin and the Kaveri basin. The major oil fields in Krishna-Godawari basin includes Pallakollu, Uppidi, Kauravaka and Achhanta. The major oil fields in Kaveri basin includes Neduasal and Karikal. Apart from this, India also imports crude oil to meet its domestic demands. As per the available data for 2019-20, India majorly imported oil from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Nigeria, Venezuela, Kuwait, USA and Mexico. See, just go through this table. In films, UPSC might give you countries given here and ask you to arrange the countries in descending order of India's oil imports. In addition to this, you can also expect questions from the oil fields in India that we discussed earlier. That's all regarding this discussion. Before concluding, let us do a quick recap. First, in this discussion, we saw what is petroleum. See, petroleum is a non-renewable natural resource. In India, it is found in the sedimentary rocks in the western and eastern flanks of Peninsula. The major offshore oil fields in India are found in Gujarat and Assam. Assam accounts for 25% of India's oil production. The major oil fields in Assam include Digbhai, Naharkatia, Moran, Hujrigan, Rudrasagar, Gali Ki, Angui and Lakwa. The next major offshore oil field in India is in Gujarat that accounts for 19% of total oil production in India. The major oil fields in Gujarat includes Ankaleshwar, Kalol, Meghsana, Navagam, Kosamba and Lunaj. The major offshore oil fields in India are found in the Mumbai High Region which accounts for 45% of India's total oil production. After this, in our discussion, we saw about the recently discovered oil resource in India which is along the east coast in the Delta region. The major oil fields in Krishna, Godavari basin includes Pallakollu, Uppidi, Kauravaka and Achanta. The major oil fields in Kaveri basin includes Neduvasal and Karikal. Finally, we saw the countries that export oil to India. The descending order of countries that export oil to India is Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Nigeria, Venezuela, Kuwait, United States and Mexico. That's all regarding this discussion. Now, let us take up the next news article. Look at this news article. The article states that yesterday, a fire broke out in Tugai Varai Reserve Forest in Perumal Malai in the Western Ghats. This is due to the rising temperature over the last two days. Due to the forest fire, around 100 acres of vegetation has been destroyed. In this context, let us learn about reserve forest, protected forest, village forest and some important provisions of Indian Forest Act 1927. Now, let us start our discussion. See, the Indian Forest Act 1927 was largely based on previous Indian Forest Act implemented under the British. The Act, that is the Indian Forest Act 1927, defines what is a forest offense. What are the acts that are prohibited inside a reserve forest? And the penalties that is imposed on the violation of the provisions of the Indian Forest Act. This act also establishes three categories of forest. The categories are reserve forest, protected forest and village forest. See, the most restricted category is the reserve forest. These forest may be constituted by the state government on gheri, forest land or wasteland. The forest land or wasteland is a property of the government on which the government has proprietary rights. In reserve forest, most activities by local people are prohibited, unless such activities is specifically allowed by a forest officer in the course of settlement. The second type of forest is called protected forest. The state government is empowered to constitute any land other than reserved forest as protected forest. In case of protected forest, the government has proprietary rights. See, under protected forest, the government retains the power to issue rules regarding the use of such forest. But in the absence of such rules, most practices are allowed. Among other powers, the state retains the power to reserve the specific tree species in the protected forest. This power has been used to establish state control over trees whose timber, fruit and other non-wood products have revenue raising potential. Now the third classification, that is village forest. In case of village forest, the state government may assign to any village community the rights of the government. That is, in case of village forest, the government transfers its rights to the village community. Additionally, in village forest, the state government may also make rules for regulating the management of such forest. See, the act also creates the precision of forest settlement officer. The main function of forest settlement officer is to consider the claims of the local inhabitants to certain usage rights. That is, it is the forest settlement officer who decides on the forest usage rights of the local inhabitants. The forest settlement officer also has the rights to relocate, revise or discontinue such practice. In addition to this, the act also establishes an elaborate procedure for the settlement of rights when a reserved forest is intended to be constituted. That is all regarding this news article. In this discussion, we discussed about reserved forest, protected forest, village forest and we saw the difference between the three forests. We also saw some of the provisions of Indian Forest Act 1927. That is all regarding this news article. Now we will move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article. The news article talks about an incentive scheme for walking among diabetic and pre-diabetic patients. Yes, you heard me right. See, this is suggested based on a study commissioned by the Tamil Nadu government. Just have a look at the way they divided the people and what all incentives were given. See, this can be used in enriching your answers in GS paper 2 and GS paper 4. How? This initiative can be quoted as an example for an innovative initiative taken by the government to bring in behavioral change. Here, the behavioral change that the government is aiming to bring is in terms of leading a healthy lifestyle. Today, taking this as an opportunity, let us learn about diabetes. Then we will see the types of diabetes, the symptoms associated with diabetes and the treatments that are available. Now let us start the discussion. See, diabetes is a chronic disease. That is, it is a long-lasting health condition. Diabetes affects how your body turns food into energy. Most of the food you eat is broken down into sugar, which is also called as glucose. After this, the glucose is released into your bloodstream. Then, when your blood sugar goes up, your body signals your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin is a hormone. Insulin is created by pancreas. Insulin controls the amount of glucose in your bloodstream at any given moment. It also helps store glucose in your liver, fat and muscles. In a sense, insulin regulates the body's metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. See, if you have diabetes, your body either doesn't make enough insulin or cannot use the insulin that it makes. What happens at this condition? At this condition, too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream. Over time, this can cause serious health problems such as heart disease, vision loss and kidney disease. In simple words, diabetes describes a metabolic disorder characterized by a chronic hyperglycemia. Here, hyperglycemia means excessive sugar in the bloodstream. In addition to this, diabetes will lead to disturbances in carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism. Now, let's see the different types of diabetes. See, there are three main types of diabetes. First one is type 1 diabetes. It is due to body's inability to produce the hormone insulin. People with type 1 diabetes are insulin-dependent, which means they must take artificial insulin daily to stay alive. This form was previously referred as insulin-dependent diabetes milleters or adjuvinyl diabetes. Now, moving on, the second type of diabetes is type 2 diabetes. It is due to insulin resistance. It is a condition in which cells fail to use the insulin properly. See, this is sometimes combined with an absolute insulin deficiency. This form was previously referred to as non-insulin-dependent diabetes milleters or adult onset diabetes. The third one is gestational diabetes. It occurs when pregnant women without previous diagnosis of diabetes develop high blood sugar level. It may lead to type 2 diabetes among women. Just look at this image and see the other forms of diabetes also. Now, let's see the symptoms of diabetes. The main symptoms are firstly polyuria. What is polyuria? Polyuria means frequent urination. Next symptom is polydipsia. Polydipsia means increased thirst. The third symptom is polyphagia. Polyphagia means increased hunger. Having seen the symptoms for diabetes, let us see the treatments that are available for diabetes. See, until now, there is no one complete cure for diabetes. But, losing weight, eating healthy food and being active can really help. In addition to this, taking medicines as needed, getting diabetes self-management education and support and keeping healthcare appointments can reduce the impacts of diabetes on your life. See, mainly, type 2 diabetes can be prevented after following healthy lifestyle such as healthy diet, proper exercise and maintaining a healthy weight. That's all about this news article. See, in this discussion, we saw about what is diabetes, its types, symptoms and the treatment available. With this, let us conclude the news article discussion and take up the practice prelims questions. We have three practice prelims questions today. Let us see them one by one. Let us take up the first question. Four places are given. We have to find what is common among the four given places. The places given are Mumbai High, Dig Boy, Karsana and Meghsana. See, here the correct answer is option C, that is oil fields. All the four given places, that is Mumbai High, Dig Boy, Karsana and Meghsana are oil fields in India. Mumbai High is an offshore field off the coast of Mumbai. Dig Boy is the oldest oil field in India and it is located in Assam. Karsana is oil field located in Arunathar Pradesh and Meghsana is oil field located in Gujarat. So, in conclusion, the correct option is option C, oil fields. Now, let us take up the next question. This question is in regards to Indian Forest Act 1927. Two statements are given. We have to find the correct statement. Let us take up the first statement. The protected forest is the most restricted category of forest. See, this statement is wrong. We have seen in our discussion that the reserved forest is the most restricted category of forest. Now, let us take up the second statement. Reserved forests are constituted only by the union government and protected forests are constituted by both state and union government. See, this statement is also wrong because both the types of forest, that is reserved forest and protected forest are constituted by the state government. Since both the statements are wrong, our answer here is option D, neither one nor two. Now, let us take up the last practice problem's question. Here, three symptoms are given. We have to find which of the symptoms given are symptoms of diabetes. The first symptom is polyuria, second symptom is polydipsia and the third symptom is polyphagia. See, there are lot of symptoms of diabetes. For the question here, mainly ask about the major symptoms of diabetes. The all the three symptoms given, that is polyuria, polydipsia and polyphagia are symptoms of diabetes. Since all the three given symptoms are correct, the correct answer here is option D, all of the above. 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. For more updates regarding VPSC preparation, subscribe to Shankara ES Academy YouTube channel. Thank you.