 Good evening aspirants. I welcome you all to the Hindu Daily News Analysis brought to you by Shankar IA's Academy for the newspapers dated 16th of July and 17th of July 2023 displayed here is a list of articles that we will take up for discussion go through it Now we will start with the first article discussion Look at this news article from yesterday's newspaper It is about a recent decision of the GST council as we saw in our 14th July daily news analysis The 50th GST council had decided that online gaming would be taxed at 28 percentage on the full-face value of the placed bets The article here deals with the concerns of the gaming industry about the recent tax rise So in our discussion today, we will see the points given in this article in detail first Let us know how the taxation will work See the gaming platforms charge an entry fee from the users to allow them to participate in a particular game Let's assume the amount to be rupees hundred of the hundred rupees the gaming platform Allocates rupees 80 for the price pool and the remaining 20 rupees the gaming platform uses to run the platform This 20 rupees is called the gross gaming revenue. That is GG are Earlier that is before the decision of the 50th GST council the government used to tax the GG are at 18 percentage and 18 percentage of rupees 20 is rupees 3.6 So previously when a person places a bet of rupees hundred the gaming platforms have to pay a tax of rupees 3.6, but currently the GST council has decided to tax the face value of the bet at 28 percentage in our example rupees hundred is the face value of the bet and 28 percentage of hundred rupees that is 28 rupees So due to the recent changes made by the GST council the tax that is paid has increased from rupees 3.60 to 28 so this is why the gaming industry is worried Before seeing the concerns of the gaming industry, let us first see the clarification given by the government Our finance minister stated that the decision of the GST council was not aimed at hurting the gaming industry The minister also stated that the move of the GST council will reduce complexity simplify the tax filing process and increase transparency in the sector But the gaming industry is not very welcoming of the move The first concern of the industry is that when the tax to be paid is more than the revenue generated Then the industry will turn unviable in the long run See in the example that we saw today the gross gaming revenue was rupees 20 But the tax to be paid in the new regime would be rupees 28 This is the first concern. The second concern is the rise of black market The industry leaders feel that due to high tax burden some gaming operators might resort to black market And the rise of black market will hurt the image of the industry further This is the second concern. The third concern is that this move of the government will curb the growth of the industry According to a report by Deloitte and the Federation of Indian fantasy sports The online gaming industry has grown at 31 percentage to rupees 6,800 crore in financial year 2022. It is estimated to touch rupees 25,240 crore by financial year 2027 this sector also has brought in rupees 50,000 crore in FDI that is foreign direct investment still financial year 2022 and it is expected to invite rupees 25,000 crore in FDI by financial year 2027 the industry leaders feel that the steep increase in GST will affect the confidence of both the Indian and the foreign investors and This will in turn affect the growth of the sector. The last concern is reduction in demand The high tax burden will reduce the price pool or the winnings available for the players and Reduction in winnings available for gamers will lower their Encagement with the gaming platform and due to low Encagement the revenue of gaming platforms will further go down. This will put the whole industry in Geoparty the last concern is specific to skill based online gaming as of now the GST regime Different shades online games based on skills versus chance The game of skills was taxed at a lower rate than the game of chance But what is the difference between the two see while an element of chance is involved in games of skill Each player's unique set of skills determine their success rate This is unlike a game of chance where the outcome is totally dependent on luck The user cannot influence the outcome the example for game of skills are online Rummy fantasy sports The example of game of chance are betting gambling and horse racing The recommendation made at the 50th GST council meeting the government decided to club the skill based gaming and chance based gaming together and both are taxed at 28% So these are all the concerns expressed by the gaming industry in this discussion today We understood how taxation of the gaming industry will work and we saw what are the concerns of the gaming industry With the learn points in mind now we will move on to the next article discussion Look at this article from the text and context page see according to a survey around 35 percentage of organizations in India experienced data breaches in their cloud environment last year This means that unauthorized individuals gained access to their data without permission See these breaches include many instances where personal information of Indian citizens who registered with a coven portal and An instant where a HR management portal called myrocket.co was leaked ICACA's bank data leakage and a university admission platform called leverage edu also had a Data leakage instance. So these breaches were fixed after they were reported But it's important to understand that even a brief exposure of personal user data can have serious Consequences because it can be used to buy cyber criminals to target individuals Financial assets and online accounts in India 40 percentage of data stored in cloud is classified as Sensitive in this context. Let us discuss. What is cloud storage? What are the risks associated with it and how we can mitigate these risks before that the syllabus relevant to this discussion As highlighted here, you can go through it. Firstly, what is cloud storage and why do companies use it? See cloud storage is a method of storing digital data such as files videos or business data on Service located in off-site locations These servers are managed either by the companies themselves or by third-party providers Companies use cloud storage because it allows them to store access and Maintain their data without the need to invest in operating and maintaining their own data centers It also provides scalability meaning Organizations can easily expand or reduce their data storage based on their needs So imagine cloud storage is like having a backpack where you can store all your important stuff So instead of carrying around your heavy books or files, you put them inside this backpack You don't have to carry this backpack all around where you're going It can magically appear whenever you need them. It's like having your own Personal storage space in the sky which is accessible from any device with an internet connection So what are the advantages of this cloud storage? See these servers can be accessed either by public or through private internet connections Companies use cloud storage to store access and maintain data and they don't need to invest in Operating and maintaining data centers But there are risks associated with cloud storage These risks can arise due to various factors like using outdated legacy IT systems insecure authentication practices weak passwords insecure APIs Inadequate security controls human error or it can be even due to inadequate encryption of data during transfer or storage So these risks can potentially expose sensitive data to unauthorized access and Compromise the security of the stored information So how can legacy systems weaken cloud storage setup? See legacy IT systems are older systems that may have known vulnerabilities or Simply they lack the capability to support advanced security measures So when these legacy systems are used alongside cloud infrastructure They can become a target for hackers to gain unauthorized access to the connected cloud resources Additionally legacy systems may not support advanced encryption techniques which can further increase the risk to cloud infrastructure Therefore, it's important to update and audit legacy systems when using them in conjunction with cloud storage Now how to treat data breaches and exposures in the cloud? See data breaches and data exposure incidents in the cloud should be treated similarly If you see a data breach incident Confidential or protected information is exposed to unauthorized individuals on the other hand Data exposure often occurs due to misconfiguration or human error Resulting in unintentional data disclosure So both data breaches and data exposure incident requires close monitoring to ensure Confidentiality and availability of sensitive information stored in the cloud See system misconfiguration occur when there is a lack of proper security configurations on the devices and service accessing cloud data or Weaknesses in the software being used. These misconfigurations can basically expose user data and this makes it Accessible to unauthorized individuals Compromising the security. So many companies rely on the cloud vendor to handle security configurations But important settings like access encryption and firewall rules can sometimes be missed This allows threat actors to exploit the misconfiguration and gain access to store data Imagine you're a small business owner using a cloud storage service to store your business files You rely on a cloud vendor to handle the security configurations But you neglect to set up proper access controls for your employees as a result an employee Who should only have read-only access to the files? Accidentally gains full editing privileges. This misconfiguration could lead to data loss or unauthorized modifications to important business documents So who has the liability for data protection in the cloud? See the responsibility for ensuring data security lies with the companies that own the data They are responsible even if they grant access to the vendors or partners So if the data is sensitive, it is the company's responsibility to ensure that the selected vendor has proper security measures in place This includes checking for cloud complaints such as two-factor authentication monitoring database access encryption and setting up firewall rules to restrict access to specific locations and departments Here you should also know that there are risks associated with data migration in the cloud See switching between cloud storage vendors are upgrading systems can sometimes carry risk So without a proper migration plan and assessment of a new cloud provider There is possibility of data exposure It's important to ensure that data is encrypted during transit and relevant backups are made to maintain data security Let's say your company decides to switch from one cloud storage vendor to another This could be due to better pricing and better features So during the migration process if proper precautions are not taken there is a risk of data exposure For example, if the data is not securely transferred and encrypted during transit It could potentially be intercepted and accessed by unauthorized individuals Now how can users keep their data safe? See when users become aware of potential data breaches They are advised to take certain actions to protect their data This includes changing passwords setting up two-factor authentication reviewing and updating security question answers and Monitoring their accounts for any unauthorized transactions or suspicious activity Financial data exposed in a breach is typically used quickly by threat actors But personally identifiable data can have a longer lifespan as it can be sold on the dark web for various illicit activities such as phishing scams See data encryption is seen as one of the most effective methods for securing sensitive information in the cloud Making relevant backups are also key aspects of ensuring data security Now what are the challenges in ensuring data security in India? See cyber defense index by MIT indicates that India has a significant deficit in critical infrastructure and weak cyber security regulations This is despite India having a digital forward government and one of the world's largest IT enabled service sectors Despite the rising number of cyber attacks and the growing need for stronger cyber security measures There is a lack of a comprehensive national Cybersecurity law and the absence of a dedicated ministry for cyber security Also India's personal data protection bill of 2019 was withdrawn due to severe criticism over its potential to infringe personal data privacy Currently India's data protection remains under the IT Act of 2000 So only this provides for punishment in cases of improper data handling This approach is however insufficient for the modern digital era with new types of threats Resources dedicated to cyber security are also insufficient This leads to a constant fire fighting mode leaving little time for learning strategizing or improving Defenses Indian internet users mostly rely on foreign owned social networking sites and hardware This creates unique national security challenges This reliance could expose the country to additional cyber threats and data breaches So what can be done to ensure cyber security? See India has to ensure global cooperation through information sharing and strengthening joint efforts in cyber security Research as most cyber attacks originate from foreign countries India has to join Budapest convention on cyber security This convention seeks to provide investigative techniques and increasing cooperation among nations Along with this India can also use multilateral Initiatives like quad for strengthening cyber security The corporates and the respective government departments have to find the gaps in their organizations and Address those gaps and create a layered security system We have to enhance the coordination in security management Most importantly government must prioritize the cyber security research and development activities We need to allocate more resources for securing sensitive data and in overall data security So I hope this explanation helped you in clarifying the concepts discussed in this article With a lot points in mind now we will move on to the next article discussion See this FAQ article tries to explain about the forest conservation amendment bill of 2023 See this bill is likely to be tabled in the monsoon session of parliament which is about to begin from July 20th But the issue here is even when the bill is referred to a joint parliamentary committee The committee has approved the government version of the bill with almost no comments revisions or suggestions This is actually the controversy around the bill So in this news article discussion, let us quickly go through some of the important points mentioned in this news article But before that the syllabus relevant to this discussion is highlighted here. You can go through it First let us see about forest conservation act See the Indian Forest Act 1927 was framed with the objective of managing timber and other forest resources It provides for state governments to notify any forest land They own as reserved or protected forest All land rights in such land are subject to the provisions of the act After independence vast areas of forest land were designated as reserved and protected forest The Forest Conservation Act of 1980 was enacted to prevent large-scale deforestation This particular act specifies certain restrictions on diverting forest land for non forest purposes And it requires the central government's approval for any diversion of forest land for non forest purposes However, if we see the Supreme Court judgment in the Godavaraman Tirumal Park case in 1966 It expanded the scope of protection for forest lands The judgment said that even areas that are not officially designated as forests But if they met the dictionary definition of forest then such an area should be protected under the act Since there is no universal definition of what constitutes a forest The Tirumal Park judgment directed states to define and demarcate forest using their own criteria Also the Standing Committee on Science Technology Environment and Forest in 2019 noted that pressure on forest land has increased due to several reasons like industry demands, agriculture and demand for forest produce So the current amendment tries to remove the ambiguities and clarify the act's applicability on various types of land The bill also emphasizes promoting tree cover, carbon sinks, national security infrastructure and livelihood opportunities for forest dwelling communities Now we shall see the important features of the 2023 bill See the key changes to the act include inserting a preamble that underlines India's commitment to preserving forests, their biodiversity and tackling challenges from climate change It also seeks to amend the name of the act to Sunrakshin Evam Samvardhan Adinayam from the existing Forest Conservation Act Here this word can be translated as forest conservation and augmentation The amendment also says that the act would apply only to two types of lands First, lands declared or notified as a forest under the Indian Forest Act 1927 or under any other law And two, land recorded as a forest in a government record on or after October 25, 1980 This implies that any land that was recorded as a forest before this date but not notified as one by the state government will be excluded from the purview of the act Further, the act will not apply to lands changed from forest use to non-forest use on or before December 12, 1996 by any authority authorized by a state or union territory So if a notified forest land was legally diverted from 1980 and 1996 for non-forest use, the Forest Conservation Act would not apply So this is the second major amendment that is proposed Thirdly, forest lands situated 100 km away from international borders and to be used for strategic projects of national importance or land ranging from 5 to 10 hectares for security and defence projects would also be exempted from the ambit of the act These exemptions will be subject to the terms and conditions specified by the central government by guidelines Fourthly, under the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, a state government requires prior approval of the central government to assign forest land to any entity not owned or controlled by the government In the bill, this condition is extended to all entities including those owned and controlled by the government It also requires that prior approval be subject to terms and conditions prescribed by the central government So these are some of the important features of the 2023 bill But many have objected the changes brought by the bill Firstly, regarding exemptions and environmental impact Say many people have raised concerns that the exemptions in the bill could have negative consequences for important forests especially in the Himalayan, Trans-Himalayan and North-Eastern regions They argue that clearing such forests without prior assessment and mitigation plans could harm the biodiversity and trigger extreme weather events Secondly, with respect to the exclusion of forest land Critics argue that limiting the scope of the legislation to areas recorded as forest on or after October 25, 1980 leaves out significant sections of forest land and biodiversity hotspots This means that these areas could potentially be sold, diverted, cleared or exploited for purposes other than forestry Thirdly, with respect to the renaming of the act Some individuals object to the renaming of the act They believe that the renaming could indicate a shift in focus or dilution of the original purpose of the legislation This change may raise concerns about the government's commitment to protecting forest and their ecological significance Fourth is with respect to the dilution of Supreme Court's verdict See, critics argue that the bill could weaken the legal protection against the deforestation that was ensured by the 1996 verdict of the Supreme Court This verdict, as we saw, aimed to safeguard every forest mentioned in government records So weakening this protection may raise fears about the increased risk of deforestation and habitat destruction But anyways, the bill is going to be tabled in the Monson session So we have to wait and watch what will happen So in this discussion, we saw about the Forest Conservation Amendment Bill of 2023 and its important features and we also saw what are the concerns raised against this bill With the long points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion Take a look at this article It talks about polio cases caused by oral polio vaccines The author argues about the dangers of oral polio vaccine in developing countries In this discussion, let's see about some general information about polio And then we will also see about the risks associated with polio vaccines used in India See, polio is a crippling and deadly virus infection that affects our nervous system It spreads from person to person by fecal or through oral route And it can sometimes happen through the contamination of food or water Polio mostly affects children under 5 years of age There is no cure for polio And it can only be prevented by immunization As we all know, India received polio-free certification by the World Health Organization in 2014 This is after 3 years of 0 cases of polio This achievement has been made possible by pulse polio campaign in which all children were administered polio drops But there is a new emerging danger that we all ignore India eradicated only the type 2 wild polio virus There are still vaccine-derived polio cases occurring in India Oral polio vaccine used by the developing countries causes Many vaccine-derived or vaccine-associated polio cases More than 90% of this vaccine-derived polio virus cases are due to Type 2 virus present in the oral polio vaccines Oral polio vaccines can cause two types of polio cases One is vaccine-derived polio virus And the other is vaccine-associated paralytic polio mildews We will see what are these now First we will see about vaccine-derived polio virus See, it is a rare strain of polio virus that can occur in under immunized populations It emerges when the weakened live virus used in oral polio vaccines mutates over time and it regains the ability to cause paralysis Let's imagine a community with limited access to health care and low polio vaccination rate A child in this community receives an oral polio vaccine which contains weakened polio virus However, due to low immunization coverage, the child comes into contact with others who have not been vaccinated Over time, the weakened virus in the child's body mutates and regains its ability to cause paralysis This leads to a rare case of vaccine-derived polio virus Now we will see about vaccine-associated paralytic polio mildews See, this refers to cases of polio paralysis that occurs in individuals who have received the oral polio vaccine The oral vaccine contains the live weakened form of virus And in extremely rare cases, it can cause the disease it is designed to prevent Let's say, a child receives the oral polio vaccine which is effective in preventing polio for the majority of individuals However, in very rare instances, the weakened virus in the vaccine replicates and spreads beyond the intestines In this case, the virus enters the bloodstream and reaches the nervous system and this causes paralysis This occurrence of paralysis in the vaccinated child is only known as vaccine-associated paralytic polio mildews Now, if we take the case of developed countries they have already switched to inactivated polio vaccines Thus, they have completely eradicated polio decades ago The article says that the Indian government does not focus on vaccine-associated cases because such cases are sporadic and post-little or no-thread But the number of these cases is showing an increasing trend in India according to a report in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases Also, note that India is not maintaining any record of vaccine-associated polio cases which is an important concern while dealing with these cases As the type 2 wild polio is eliminated all the type 2 polio cases now are vaccine-derived only WHO in 2015 advised developing countries to switch from trivalent to bivalent oral polio vaccines and asked to introduce inactivated polio vaccines This is to reduce the occurrence of vaccine-derived polio virus cases But the article says that cases increased even after implementing this WHO guidelines As a way forward, the article suggests that the government must eliminate oral polio vaccine in all forms and move towards inactivated polio vaccines We must ensure that no more polio is caused in the name of its eradication So, we have seen the basics about polio virus, dangers of oral polio vaccine and what can be done to reduce the risk associated with it That's all with this article With the learnt points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion Look at this article here, it is about coral bleaching The article gives us details about what is coral bleaching and why does coral bleaching occur In this discussion, we will see all these points in detail See, corals form an important part of marine ecosystem They are colonial organisms composed of thousands to millions of individual polyps These coral polyps are tiny soft-bodied animals Each polyp secretes a hard exoskeleton made of calcium carbonate This creates a protective structure called a coral skeleton or coral reef Corals have a mutualistic or symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic algae called zooxantholy These algae live within the coral tissues and they provide the corals with essential nutrients through photosynthesis In return, the coral offers a protected environment and access to sunlight Another interesting fact that you should note here is that zooxantholy are also the reason for some colors in corals These are some basic points about corals Now, what is coral bleaching? See, coral bleaching happens when corals get stressed by things like very warm water This stress makes the colorful algae that lives inside the corals leave them When the algae goes away, the corals turn pale or white which is why it's called bleaching So basically, when corals bleach, they lose their beautiful colors and become pale or white just like when people's face turn white when they are scared or sick See, the corals need three primary conditions that contribute to their growth Firstly, corals need warm water They prefer temperatures between 23 to 29 degrees Celsius This warmth provides the energy required for their growth and facilitates their symbiotic relationship with zooxantholy algae Secondly, corals thrive in clear and sunlit water Sunlight is crucial for the zooxantholy living within the corals to perform photosynthesis Then, corals flourish in shallow, nutrient-rich water Shallow waters allow access to abundant sunlight while nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus support their growth So, if any of these conditions is missing, it can impact their health and the rich ecosystems they sustain So, what are the causes of coral bleaching? The first cause is anthropogenic climate change Human activities like burning fossil fuels release greenhouse gases These gases trap heat in the earth's atmosphere This causes the oceans to warm up and put corals at risk of bleaching The second one is pollution See, pollution from sources like agricultural runoff, sewage and chemicals can harm corals and make them more susceptible to bleaching The third one is ocean acidification See, as the ocean absorbs excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere it becomes more acidic This acidity can weaken the coral skeletons making them more vulnerable to stress and results in bleaching The fourth cause is excessive exposure to sunlight Corals need sunlight to survive because of the symbiotic relationship with the susanthole But excessive exposure to intense sunlight can also stress the corals Then there is physical damage Human activities like careless diving, boating or coastal development can physically damage corals This makes them more prone to bleaching In some areas, low tides have also caused coral bleaching These are some major causes of coral bleaching But is coral bleaching permanent? Actually, in many areas, when the stress that induced coral bleaching is removed the coral colonies have recovered But the stress persists for an extended period in some cases where the corals can even die So, when coral bleach and lose their colors, they become weak and vulnerable If the stress continues, the corals can even surely die And this can have many consequences First, it disrupts the homes and hiding places of many fishes and other creatures that depend on the coral reefs for shelter and protection Also, the loss of coral reefs means loss of food for many marine animals Then, coral reefs also help protect the coasts from storms and waves They act like natural barriers and absorb the force of waves and prevent erosion So, when the corals die, this protection goes away Lastly, coral reefs are like popular tourist destinations Many people love to explore their beauty by snorkelling or diving When the corals bleach and lose their vibrant colors it's not as exciting for tourists to visit This can affect tourism and the local economy because fewer people will come to visit leading to fewer jobs and opportunities for local communities This is all regarding this discussion In this discussion, we saw what is coral bleaching and why does coral bleaching occur We also saw the effects of coral bleaching With the learned points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion Look at this article here It deals with the death due to lightning and why the central government is reluctant to add death due to lightning as a natural disaster In this discussion today, we will see the points provided in the article in detail But first let's start with the basics So, in simpler terms, lightning is a discharge of electricity from a cloud It takes the form of a long spark See, when a strong cloud develops in the sky, strong winds move upwards through the cloud and make the water drops present in the cloud to rub against one another This rubbing together of water drops produce extremely large electric charges in the cloud due to friction The small water drops occur a positive charge and they being lighter move to the upper part of the cloud with rising wind On the other hand, the larger water drops occur a negative charge and they being heavier come down in the lower part of the cloud The top of the cloud becomes positively charged whereas the bottom of the cloud becomes negatively charged When the amount of opposite electric charges on the top and bottom of the strong cloud becomes extremely large then electric charges start flowing with high speed through the air between them When the positive and negative charges of a cloud meet they produce an intense spark of electricity between the cloud and the sky We see this electric spark as a flash of lightning in the sky The electric sparks of the lightning heat the nearby air in the sky to very high temperatures Due to this heat, the air in the sky expands rapidly and produces a loud sound which we call thunder See, lightning usually occurs within a cloud in the sky It is called sheet lightning But know that lightning also occurs between a cloud and the earth or some tall objects of the earth This is called fork lightning See, if a strong cloud having negative charges at its bottom passes over a tall building it induces positive charges on the roof of the building When the electric charges on the bottom of the cloud becomes extremely large then these tremendous electric charges present on the bottom of the charged cloud suddenly flow to the roof of the building and we see a flash of lightning coming towards the building Now, what are the impacts of lightning strikes? The impact of lightning strikes is mainly due to its enormous amount of energy associated with it The power of lightning is estimated to be between 10,000 and 2 lakh ampere of current with estimated voltage running from 20 million to 1 billion voltage This high power causes various impacts on the human body The most common impact is lightning associated burns In addition to burns, the electrical energy that is discharged due to lightning strikes causes muscular spans, blood vessels, tears, unconsciousness and finally motor and sensory function abnormalities Most deaths after lightning strikes occur either because of primary cardiac arrest or hypoxia induced secondary cardiac arrest Here, hypoxia is a state in which oxygen is not available in sufficient amounts at the tissue level and hypoxia occurs because in some cases lightning strikes might result in respiratory arrest The effects of lightning on the human body depend on a number of features such as the intensity of the current, the time it spends passing through the body, the pathway involved, the activity and position of the person at the time of the event in relation to the ground and the kind of strike that is direct strike, ground strike or wire mediated lightning For example, direct strikes occur when lightning hits an object directly and in case of ground strikes electricity discharges into and along the ground So this is about the impact of lightning strikes on human But keep in mind that lightning affects livestock and wildlife too and cattle are common casualties to lightning strikes Moving forward, let us see the distribution of lightning strikes According to the National Crime Records Bureau released in 2015, around 2,500 people die due to lightning strikes in India every year In 2020, the number of deaths due to lightning strikes was around 2,000 As per the latest NCRB data, lightning strikes has cost 2,880 deaths in 2021 According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the frequency of lightning was the highest in northeastern states and in West Bengal, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar But the number of deaths is higher in the central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh and Odisha A report by the Center for Science and Environment and Down to Earth last year found that India witnessed 18.5 million lightning strikes between April 2020 and March 2021 This is a 34% rise as compared to the same period in the previous year Now, why is there an increase in lightning strikes? The first major cause is climate change We know that lightning mainly occurs during thunderstorms Due to climate change, the stability of the atmosphere is affected and this has resulted in an increase in thunderstorm activity and this in turn has resulted in an increase in the number of lightning strikes In addition to this, the concentration of aerosols and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has also resulted in increased intensity of the lightning Having covered the basics, now let's come to the news article See, the issue is that the Union Government is not in favor of declaring lightning as a natural disaster If lightning is declared as a natural disaster then the victims will be entitled to compensation from the state disaster response friend Now, why is the Union Government reluctant? This is because according to the government, deaths caused by lightning can be prevented by making people aware of safety steps In addition to this, India is among only five countries in the world that has an early warning system for lightning The forecast is available from five days to up to three hours So, the Union Government is reluctant to declare it as a natural disaster So, this is all about this news article In this discussion, we saw what is lightning, how it occurs We saw what are the impacts of lightning strikes Then, we also saw the distribution of lightning strikes And finally, we saw why the Union Government is reluctant to declare lightning strike as a natural disaster With this understanding, now we will move to the next part of a discussion which is practice questions Question number one How many of the following areas have coral reefs? Andaman and Nikober islands, Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Mana and Sundarbans Select the correct code See here, Sundarbans do not have coral reefs and it is famous for its mangroves You can also see the coral reef distribution in India from this map So, the correct answer for this question is option C, only three Question number two Which of the following taxes have been subsumed under GST? See the correct answer here is option B, excise duty, entertainment tax and sales tax Question number three Consider the following statements regarding polio virus Statement number one Wild polio virus is eradicated all over the world Statement number two Polio virus belongs to the same family of virus that causes chicken pox Choose the correct option See here, statement number one is incorrect As of 2022, endemic wild polio virus remains in two countries Pakistan and Afghanistan Here, statement number two is also incorrect Polio viruses are single-stranded RNA viruses belonging to the family Paikona Viride So, the correct answer for this question is option D, none of the above Now, this is the practice question for you Read the question carefully and post the answers in the comment box Displayed here are the main questions for your practice Interested aspirants can write the answer and post it in the comment box below If you found a video to be useful, hit the like button, share it with your friends Subscribe to this channel, happy learning