 Good evening aspirants welcome to the hindi news analysis by Shankaray's academy for the date 8th June 2020 These are the list of articles chosen for today's analysis It has been provided along with the page numbers of different editions of hindi newspaper The link for the handwritten notes in the PDF format and the time stamping of the displayed articles is provided in the description box And also in the comment section. Let's move on to the first article discussion for today This discussion is based on this editorial which has been authored by the former vice president Author mentions the importance of cooperative security rather than competitive security in the Persian Gulf region And this is to maintain security and stability in the region The syllabus that is relevant to this discussion is given here for your reference See as you know Persian Gulf is a shallow marginal sea that lies between the Arabian Peninsula and Southwestern Iran it is bordered on north northeast and east by Iran And it is bordered on the southwest by part of Oman then in the south it is bordered by United Arab Emirates and on the southwest and west it is bordered by Qatar Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and finally on the Northwest it is bordered by Kuwait and Iran and as you know all these countries are members of United Nations now this Persian Gulf connects with the Gulf of Oman and Arabian sea through the state of Hormone And as we know the Persian Gulf and its coastal states are the world's largest single source of crude oil And crude oil is the common interest among these eight countries as they are the major producers of crude oil and natural gas By this the Gulf countries contribute critically to the global economy and also to their own prosperity So to secure this powerful naval forces from several countries remain in the Persian Gulf waters So as to protect the flow of oil to the rest of the world because Persian Gulf supplies most of the world's energy needs and it is said that nearly 50 percentage of the world's total oil reserves are Estimated to be found in the Persian Gulf only so that means Persian Gulf has a geopolitical importance Even though the Gulf countries have geopolitical significance They are often characterized by regional tensions amongst them if you see the 1980 1988 Iran-Iraq war each side that is Iran and Iraq each of them attacked others oil tankers And then the region was also the background for 1991 Persian Gulf War when Iraq invaded Kuwait Then if you see again this region was the scene of warfare in 2003 when US and British forces Invaded Iraq so we can say that the Persian Gulf and its vast oil reserves make the region a continuing source of International tensions so how all of this started see the British administration ended in this region around 1970 and then the regional players started to defend their sovereignty and this created regional tensions These tensions paved the way for interventions by external powers such as the US and the United Nations Especially if you see after the Iran-Iraq war the matter was left to the United Nations Security Council in 1987 and then UNSC passed a resolution which called Iran and Iraq to observe an immediate ceasefire and also to Discontinue all military actions and withdraw all forces in the region So this indicated that there is a need for an intervention by external powers in the region as countries couldn't manage themselves It also indicated that there is a need for a framework to enhance the security and stability in the region and that Framework must include these ingredients or aspects to maintain these stability in the region So what are these aspects first the framework must ensure peace and stability in the individual Littoral states say littoral state is nothing but a state that has a coast near the water and in our context The eight countries having coast with the Persian Gulf are the littoral states of Persian Gulf So the framework must ensure peace and stability in these states and secondly the framework should give freedom to all the littoral states to exploit their hydrocarbons and other natural resources available in the region and freedom should also be given to Export these resources and then thirdly freedom should be given for commercial shipping in the international waters of the Persian Gulf and Then fourth the framework must ensure freedom of access to the Gulf waters and also out of Gulf waters through the Strait of Hormo and this is one of the reason why Strait of Hormo is called as the choke point of the Gulf and then the framework Should also ensure the prevention of conflict because these conflicts Negatively impact the freedom of trade and shipping in this region. So if a framework is concluded It should have all these aspects. So whether such a framework achieved by the Gulf countries or not Yes, it was achieved one such framework to enhance the security and stability of the region is the Gulf Cooperation Council or in short GCC see GCC is a political and economic alliance of six Middle Eastern countries Which includes Kuwait Saudi Arabia Bahrain Qatar UAE and Oman and it was established in their 1981 and the purpose of GCC is to achieve unity among its members based on their common objectives and their similar Political and cultural identities which are rooted in Arab cultures and Islamic cultures I know that presidency of this council rotates annually among these countries and remember more importantly Iran and Iraq are not GCC countries and according to the GCC charter its basic objective is to have Coordination integration and interconnection between member states in all fields including economy trade Customs tourism administration etc. And it also has the objective of strengthening ties between their people and additionally if you see for a Long time US has been working with GCC states to resolve the conflicts and to reduce the regional tensions still very recently But as you know the current US administration and its president has America first policy So in the recent times they have shown declining commitments to the sub regional security of the region as you know US Imposed many sanctions against Iran. So this caused a feeling of worry among the members of GCC So what is the status of this region now according to the author? There is a fundamental transformation in the region because Saudi Arabia is losing its power in the region then UAE Qatar and Iran are emerging as new regional leaders and apart from them Oman and Iraq are Struggling to retain their sovereign identities. So these regional imbalances indicate the ending of GCC as a strategic alliance and additionally as you know OPEC and even the Arab League are also becoming Irrelevant these days and this scenario is further aggravated by the global economic crisis It is increased by the immediate and longer impacts of COVID-19 pandemic Which is affecting the regional economies and then the ongoing problems in the OPEC that is organization of petroleum exporting countries Is also a cause of concern and in a way all these are leading to the decline in oil prices So it is also a concern which is creating more regional imbalances in this region So that is why author is of the view that the Persian Gulf as we have known for a long time is in the middle of a fundamental Transformation so what should be done now by the Gulf countries here author provides one solution Which is instead of resorting to competitive security arrangements which promotes armament drives insecurity and regional imbalances in the region the Gulf countries must resort to Cooperative security arrangements and such arrangement should promote security and stability in the region So for example the six countries of the GCC should explore the working arrangements with its Persian Gulf neighbors of Iran and Iraq See already Oman has a special relationship with Iran and Kuwait and Qatar are also trying to establish Communication with these countries and now the United Arab Emirates has initiated such Arrangements and additionally both Iran and the GCC states must just set the stage for a wider dialogue Then only these countries would benefit and achieve the security and stability in the region And by this only every outside nation that has trading and economic Interest in the Gulf would benefit So this is where India's interests comes into play because if you see the Gulf is among India's top trading partners The bilateral economic and political relationship with the GCC has increased in the recent years as the governments of these GCC states are India friendly and also Indian friendly and even the bilateral trade is around 121 billion dollars and if you consider the Indian diaspora the number of Indian migrant workers in the region Stands at more than 9 million and the remittances is around 49 billion dollars And not only that GCC suppliers account for around 34 percentage of our crude imports and even the national oil companies in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi Are partners in a $44 billion investment in the giant Ratnagiri oil refinery So we can see that Gulf is among India's top trading partners But the relationship with Iran is getting complex because US is pressurizing India to cut imports of oil from Iran But as you know Iran is important for India's strategic advantage Because it has a crucial role in Pakistan and Afghanistan and it has borders with Turkey and some other countries of Central Asia So India needs to maintain bilateral relations with Iran for its strategic advantage And this could happen only if the security and stability of the region is maintained And that is why author has concluded this editorial by saying that India's interests in the Persian Gulf region would be served Only if the security and stability in the region is maintained through cooperation among the countries themselves and that too without external influences And then only such kind of security and stability will remain for a longer time So these are the points from this editorial In this discussion we saw the importance of Persian Gulf and how GCC plays its role in maintaining the security and stability of the region And how it is transforming in the current scenario And finally we also saw the importance of security and stability of Gulf region with respect to India With this we come to the end of this discussion The displayed practice questions will be discussed in the last session Moving on to the next discussion This discussion is based on this news article which talks about the recent oil spill that happened in Russia So in this discussion we will see about oil spill and its impact on the environment The syllabus that is relevant to this discussion is given here for your reference We all know that Russia is one of the leading countries in terms of crude oil production and natural gas production But sometimes this production comes at an environmental cost One such latest incident was the leak of 20,000 tons of diesel into the Umbarnaya river in Russia And this happened due to the collapse of a fuel tank in a power plant in Russia That is situated in the Russian industrial city of Norilsk in the Siberian region The Russian authorities were unable to contain the leak So this prompted the authorities to declare a state of emergency in Russia So what is this oil spill? Now that oil spill is the leakage of petroleum or diesel onto the surface of a large body of water Mainly on oceans and large rivers Oil spills became a major environmental problem since 1960s This is because of the intensified petroleum exploration and production on the continental shelves And another reason for this was the use of super tankers That is large cargo ships that are capable of transporting more than lakhs of tons of oil So that means when such tankers are involved in an accident Then those lakhs of tons of oil is spilled So know that in most cases, oil spill is caused by accidents involving tankers, pipelines, refineries and storage facilities Other reasons are the negligence of people who are involved in the production Then sometimes breakdown of equipment that is used in the plant is also a reason for oil spillage Then sometimes natural disasters such as cyclones are also a reason for oil spills Apart from this, even deliberate acts by terrorists and countries at war cause oil spill So because of these reasons, several major and minor oil spills are reported across the world each year And the release of lakhs of tons of oil causes huge economic loss And also ecological damages It is because when the oil spill happens in an ocean, it prevents sufficient amounts of sunlight from penetrating the surface It also reduces the level of dissolved oxygen Thus it threatens the aquatic life also Then oil also destroys the insulating ability of far bearing mammals such as sea otters Then such oils are also harmful to the water repelling abilities of birds' feathers So they are also exposed to the harsh elements present in the oil Many birds and animals also swallow oil, so it poisons them So on a whole, depending on just where and when a spill happens From a few birds up to hundreds or thousands of birds and mammals can be killed or injured due to the oil spill And these oil spills can also damage the habitats of animals and affects their rate of reproduction Apart from this, oil spills can also cause significant damage to the plant life If you take saltwater marshes and mangroves, they are two notable shore ecosystems that are frequently affected from oil spills If beaches and populated shorelines are damaged, then it will affect tourism and commerce also Then apart from that, the fish population in the marine region will also get contaminated So it will also affect fishing industry That is why a short-term oil spill can cause a long-term environmental damage and economic loss So are there any methods to clean such oil spills? Yes, there are some common methods to clean up the oil spill First one is using a containment boom, as you can see in this picture It is a floating barrier that is commonly used to contain the spread of spilled oil Then skimmers are also used to skim or remove the spilled oil See, a skimmer is nothing but a device which is used for recovering the spilled oil from the water surface These skimmers may be self-propelled, they could be used from shore or they can also be operated from pheasants Then sometimes oil sorbents are also used These oil sorbents comprise a wide range of organic, inorganic and synthetic products which are designed to recover oil And if you want this oil sorbent method to be effective, then the sorbents which are used should be oleophilic That is, it should be oil attracting and also it should be hydrophobic That is, it should be water repellent That is, for an oil sorbent to be effective, it should be oil attracting and water repelling Then after this, sometimes certain chemical dispersants and biological agents are also used These dispersants and biological agents break down the oil into chemical constituents Then sometimes if oil is floating on water, then in-situ burning is also used Which is a method of burning freshly spilled oil And this method is sometimes very effective Then sometimes high pressure hoses and vacuum pumps are also commonly used to wash off the oil from the beaches So these are some of the methods that can be used to clean oil spills Now the problem was initially Russia was unable to contain the oil spill And that is why the government declared a state of emergency And it is said that the leaked power plant at Norilsk in Russia was built on a permafrost See, a permafrost is defined as a ground, soil or rock that remains at zero degree Celsius Or below zero degree Celsius for at least two consecutive years So in Russia's case, it is believed that the permafrost was weakening due to climate change And it has caused the sinking of pillars that supported the plant's fuel tank So as a result, the pillars collapsed and the fuel was leaked into the nearby river system So as a conclusion, we can say that this incident to Russia is a classic example of how uncontrolled anthropogenic activities actually threaten the environment So that is all about this discussion In this discussion, we saw what do we mean by oil spill and how it is caused and how it can be removed This discussion would have provided you a wholesome idea to write a main sansa writing Now let us move on to the next discussion Before that, this practice question will be discussed in the last session Moving on to the next discussion which is based on this very interesting op-ed column which is returned by a former bureaucrat In this article, author makes a thought-provoking comparison between swarm of locusts and politically motivated people So we will see what it is in this discussion The syllabus that is relevant to this discussion is given here for your reference See, in recent times, we have seen how locusts are devastating the food production in our country So author notes that the swarms of locusts are smart and intelligent But you may think, are locusts really intelligent? And the answer given by the author is yes If you observe the individual locusts, they are not intelligent and they are driven by programmed instinct But their swarms, that is the large group of the same species, are swift, focused, responsive to stimuli and they are dangerously effective in causing destruction to crops And this phenomenon is called by biologists as swarm intelligence A swarm intelligence means the individuals that make up a colony of living creatures are singularly unintelligent But their collective actions make their entire colony intelligent as an entity See, this swarm intelligence is common among insects, bees, ants and locusts as well Even the migrating birds and shawls of fish display high degrees of swarm intelligence also For example, if you take this picture, it represents the shawl of fish or the school of fish which is nothing but the group of fish You would have noticed while watching National Geographic channel that when a big fish is going to attack all the fish moves away as if they are aware of the attack So how does this happen? How all the fishes all together move away from the attack? And the answer for this phenomenon is what is swarm intelligence? Swarm intelligence refers to the collective intelligence See, within a swarm, individuals are constantly communicating with each other through actions, through signals or even through other means And they are communicating in a binary manner See, binary what other means is every individual communicates with every other individual So the message reaches exponentially to all the individuals in that swarm So through binary communication, a simple fact that the swarm is in danger reaches all individuals in an instant and thereby the response is also instant And here one important point that you should note is that these swarms are leaderless but they act collectively However, this phenomenon is not a new thing according to the author because this phenomenon is the very essence of the logic behind the understanding of brain function This is what forms bases in the design of artificial intelligence also For example, if we consider the human brain as a colony of independently alive neuron cells then it can be imagined that all the thoughts of brain emerge from simple conversations between individual neurons So this can be related to computers as well as artificial intelligence of data or big data where individual bits of data are almost worthless but their collective makes sense When all the bits come together, it forms big data which can even alter election results or people's ideologies See, here big data includes large sets of data which further also includes likes and dislikes of an individual See, using this big data, a certain type of post can be directed towards an individual in a social media and that post may result in modification or reinforcement of that individual's likes, dislikes and perceptions For example, you'd have heard about Cambridge Analytica which used the data of millions of American Facebook users and it assisted the presidential political campaigns in the year 2016 So that is how the big data helps in altering people's ideologies and even sometimes the election results So based on this, author relates this form intelligence with the effectiveness of extremist political movements According to the author, these political movements combines form intelligence with the more conventional leadership models where a leader directs this form or group of followers about what to do and what not to do See, in the beginning we saw that this form of B's locusts are leaderless but here the political movements are led by leaders who decide everything When a leader tells something, these forms, that is the group of people take over the creating of simple messages, even fake news, sloganeering and even hate messages and individuals who are at the bottom level are cut off from the individual capabilities for critical thinking So they share these fake messages, they even amplify them and sometimes make hashtags trend on social media and through this, they make their propaganda So if this continues, what we will be surrounded by is fake news, hate messages, etc, etc And the problem with this kind of thinking is that it is the thinking of the leader and not of the individuals in the group because just now we saw the individuals lack critical thinking So that is why the author worries whether there is any political future for the critical thinking mind or not And here, author takes the example of liberals and says that liberals are unsuited for being a part of swarm See, as you know, the political ideological spectrum has two extremes, they are left and right and liberals are those who stand somewhere between left and right and tilting towards left And additionally, liberals also believe that government is necessary to protect individuals from being harmed by others But they also recognize that government itself can pose a threat to liberty So based on this only, author is saying liberals are unsuited for being a part of swarm because they reject binary communications and they see their immediate supporters as competitors rather than as part of a larger coordinated order So author is of the view that a swarm of liberals with critical thinking may not be possible But we also have examples of leaderless movements in the liberal world We have the recent example of Hong Kong and even you can take the example of Arab Spring As you know recently, a pre-democracy movement was going on in Hong Kong against mainland China And this movement is leaderless and therefore it is a collective movement against the tyranny of People's Republic of China Because people came out to roads to protest against China's regime And same was the example of Arab Spring also That is why author says these movements which are leaderless have the elements of swarm intelligence And they supported the birth and enhancement of pro-freedom movements So based on these factors, author concludes that eliminating political locusts is neither practical nor desirable So what we need is more compassionate thinking and inclusive locusts who can differentiate between right and wrong, fake and genuine, foolish and sensible information Don't confuse hereby locusts, author means individuals only Even if you remember on our 17th main news analysis, we recommended you to follow government handles on social media to break the chain of fake news and to be a responsible citizen So that is all about this discussion In this discussion, what you should take is how swarm intelligence is related to the extremist political movements And sometimes how it leads to a leaderless movement You can relate this topic to GS4 paper of ethics, integrity and aptitude You can relate it to the area of influence and the relation with thought and behavior social influence and persuasion etc So that is all about this discussion This next discussion is based on this question which has been framed on this news article which talks about COVID-19 See this news article mentions that the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs has mentioned that the central government has provided 2,095 masks and has provided over 1,00,000 PPE kits to the state of Telangana And as you know, it has been provided to combat the pandemic In addition to this, the Union Minister of State has also launched an indigenous biomedical device named as COVID-BEEP So let us see about this COVID-BEEP COVID-BEEP stands for Continuous Oxygenation and Vital Information Device Biomed It is designed by ESIC Medical College in association with ECIL for monitoring the coronavirus patients See in this ESIC Medical College is a government college located in Haryana And ECIL stands for Electronics Corporation of India Limited which is a government enterprise under the Department of Atomic Energy In this picture you can see this COVID-BEEP machine See this COVID-BEEP can check patient's body temperature, blood oxygen saturation, heart rate, respiratory rate, electrocardiogram that is ECG And then it can also check blood pressure along with patient's location on a mobile phone Or even in a laptop or desktop computer And it checks all these for monitoring by doctor from any place for giving timely treatment to the patient So that means doctors can monitor patients from any place So due to this device which utilizes the cutting-edge technology in medical services It can save the lives of healthcare workers including the lives of doctors who are tirelessly working for taking care of infected patients That means this device will help to greatly reduce the risk of transmission of virus by direct contact Because all the important details such as heart rate, blood pressure of the patient can be monitored through this device itself And not only that, this device will also help to save resources such as PPE kits As you know, PPE kit is the Personal Protective Equipment Kit According to WHO, PPE kit consists of garments which are placed to protect the healthcare workers or any other persons from getting infected So this PPE kit usually consists of gloves, masks, gown, etc And if it is a blood-borne infection or airborne infection It also includes face protection, goggles, masks, gloves, gown, head cover and rubber boots also I know that India is now the second largest producer of PPE kits after China because India started manufacturing these kits within two months of the coronavirus outbreak And it is said that India now produces 4.5 lakh PPE suits daily and over 600 companies in our country are certified to manufacture these PPE kits So that is all about covid-beep device and PPE kit Now if you look at this question, the question asks Consider the following statements with reference to covid-beep recently seen in news First statement is it is an indigenous biomedical device developed before monitoring the coronavirus patients Yes, it is an indigenous-free developed device So this is our correct statement Now the second statement is it will greatly reduce the risk of transmission of virus Yes, it is one of the main objectives of this device So this statement is also correct Now the third statement is it is developed by Indian Council of Medical Research No, this statement is incorrect because we saw that this device was developed by the ESIC Medical College situated at Haryana in association with the electronics corporation of India Limited So that means statement 3 is incorrect And here the question asks for the correct statements So the correct answer to this question is option A1 and 2 only Now let us take the next question The next discussion is based on this question which has been framed on this news article This news article mentions that the Union Ministry of Agriculture has approved 460 crore rupees project for eco restoration and livelihood enhancement of the riverine flood plains in the upper Kuttanad region of Kerala It is important because the ecology of Kuttanad has been considered as a globally important agriculture heritage system or in short GIA HHS So what is this GIA HHS? It is a living evolving system of human communities in an intricate relationship with their territory with their cultural or agricultural landscape or with their biophysical and wider social environment They are the outstanding landscapes of aesthetic beauty that combine agricultural biodiversity resilient ecosystems and a valuable cultural heritage So the landscapes combine all these Further, they sustainably provide multiple goods and services for food and livelihood security for millions of small scale farmers These ancestral agricultural systems constitute the foundation for contemporary and future agricultural innovations and technologies Their cultural, ecological and agricultural diversity is still evident in many parts of the world and they are maintained as unique systems of agriculture And the resilience of many GIA HHS sites has been developed and adapted to cope with the climate variability and change That is to cope with natural hazards, new technologies and changing social and political situations also This is done to ensure food and livelihood security and also to elevate the risk associated with agriculture Now in order to safeguard and support the world's agricultural heritage systems in their 2002 the Food and Agricultural Organization that is the specialized agency of United Nations FAO started an initiative for the dynamic conservation of globally important agricultural heritage system Now this GIA HHS initiative promotes public understanding, awareness, national and international recognition of agricultural heritage systems And if you see at present, there are 59 sites in 22 countries that are designated as GIA HHS And from India, there are three sites which are recognized as globally important agricultural heritage systems They are Safran Heritage of Kashmir which was recognized in 2011 then Corrupt Traditional Agriculture of Odisha which was recognized in 2012 and then comes the Kuttanad Below Sea Level Farming System of Kerala which was recognized in 2013 And our today's discussion is with respect to this Kuttanad Below Sea Level Farming System of Kerala only See this Kuttanad Wetland Agriculture System is unique as it is the only system in India that favors rice cultivation below sea level in the land created by draining the delta swarms in brackish waters As you can see in this picture The Kuttanad System is a complex combination of fragmented agricultural landscapes which are divided into three structures One is wetlands that is used for paddy activities and fish catching and then garden lands which are used for coconut tubers and food crops plantation and then is the water areas which are used as inland fishing and shells and just know that the rice fields in the region are popularly known as puncha vials and they exist in three landscape elements One is karappadam which means upland rice fields and then second one is kail which means wetland rice fields and then third one is curry which means land buried with black coal like materials So these are the information that you should know with respect to Kuttanad Below Sea Level Farming System and globally important agriculture heritage systems Now if you look at this question, four agricultural systems are given and the question asked which of the following are recognized as GIAHs Just now we saw one is from Kashmir and the other is from Odisha and the third one is from Kerala So first one should be in answer saffron heritage of Kashmir That means you can eliminate option A and C Now the remaining options both contains one and three Number two is present or not? Yes it is present The Kaurapud Traditional Agriculture of Odisha has been recognized as GIAHs in 2012 but this traditional agriculture in deltas of river Kodavari has not been recognized So the correct answer to this question is option D, 1, 2 and 3 Now let us take the next question Now this next question has been framed based on this news article which mentions that the archaeological survey of India has decided to open more than 800 monuments with places of worship across the country We know that several monuments with places of worships were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown So now the monuments with places of worship such as temples, masjids etc have been decided to be opened by ASI So in this context know that archaeological survey of India was established in 1861 and it is headquartered in New Delhi And at present it is an attached office under the Ministry of Culture And know that ASI is the premier organization for the archaeological researchers and protection of the cultural heritage of our nation So the maintenance of ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance is the prime concern of ASI Besides this it also regulates archaeological activities in the country as per the provisions of these two acts which are the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains act of 1958 and then antiquities and art treasure act of 1972 These acts were enacted for better preservation and maintenance of monuments and also to prevent illegal trafficking of antiquities and art treasures Now for the maintenance of ancient monuments and archaeological sites the entire country is divided into 24 circles and at present these 24 circles cover more than 3,600 monuments across the country And these are the functions of ASI Know that the primary function of ASI is the maintenance, conservation and preservation of protected monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance It also conducts archaeological explorations and excavations It also ensures the chemical preservation of monuments and antiquarian remains And also know that ASI's activities also includes archaeological expeditions outside India also Now if you look at this question it asks consider the following statements with reference to archaeological survey of India The first statement is it is a pre-independence body which is now the premier organization for the archaeological researchers and protection of the cultural heritage of the nation So here the only part where you would have doubt is the pre-independence body Yes, it is a pre-independence body It was established in 1861 long before independence So this statement is correct Now the second statement is it is attached under Ministry of Culture and involves in archaeological expeditions outside India Yes, it is an attached office under Ministry of Culture Now you may have doubt whether it conducts expeditions outside India or not Yes, it conducts So remember this fact So this statement is also correct And here the question asks for the correct statements So the correct answer to this question is option C both 1 and 2 Now let us take the remaining questions that were displayed during news article discussion sessions This is a brilliant question it asks Which of the following countries are members of Gulf Cooperation Council and also the littoral states of Persian Gulf So while attending this question you have to be very careful because it not only asks about the members of GCC but also about the littoral states of Persian Gulf We know that GCC has only six members Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and Oman So from this you can easily say six should not be in option and Iran and Iraq also should not be in option And the remaining Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Oman they are members of GCC and they are also littoral states of Persian Gulf So if you properly know the member states of GCC you can easily attend this question and also know except Yemen all the five are littoral states of Persian Gulf So the correct answer to this question is option B, 1, 4 and 5 only because during discussion we saw that Iran and Iraq are not members of GCC and Yemen is also not a member of GCC neither it is a littoral state of Persian Gulf Now let us take two main questions One is based on GS Paper 3 The question asks Oil spills are becoming a major cause of destruction of marine and several riverine ecosystems Discuss in detail about major causes and environmental and economic impacts of oil spills This is a very direct question You can give a brief introduction about what is oil spill You can even cite the example of recent oil spill that happened in Norilsk of Russia Then you have to give the causes of oil spill such as how accidents of containers or tankers lead to oil spill and how sometimes natural disasters also cause oil spills etc etc You have to mention that Then you have to mention its environmental impacts and its economic impacts And as a conclusion you can mention that oil spills can be reduced with collective effort and there should be more stringent regulations to minimize such incidents Now this next question is based on GS Paper 2 The question asks How do you justify the view that Persian Gulf region is undergoing a fundamental transformation in the recent decades Analyze its impacts on India's strategic interests in the region See for the first part you have to justify that Persian Gulf is undergoing fundamental transformation You can give the example of GCC which we discussed during editorial discussion Then you can also talk about the irrelevance of opaque in the current scenarios etc etc Then for the impacts on India's strategic interests You can mention the trade between India and GCC And also how Iran is important for India for maintaining a strategic advantage in the region And like that you can also add your own viewpoints Both the questions are 15 marks and you have to answer in 250 words Write your answers and post it in the comment section We'll review it and proper suggestions will be provided for improving your answers With this we have come to the end of today's Hindi news analysis If you like the video don't forget to like comment and share And do subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy YouTube channel For more updates related to civil service examination preparation