 Very good evening to all our friends and welcome to the Hindu News Analysis of Shankar IAS Academy for the date 28th December 2020. We are happy to inform you that the second test batch of pre-storming 2021 program of Shankar IAS Academy has already started and it is the prelims test series for the upcoming UPSC preliminary examination 2021. Our pre-storming program is India's first full-fledged artificial intelligence supported preliminary test series. All the required details are provided in the description of this video and also in the comment section. With this, let us start our news analysis for today. The relevant news articles taken up for today's discussion from five different editions of the Hindu newspaper along with their page numbers are given here for your reference. Also, the handwritten notes in the PDF format and timestampings for all the news articles taken up for today's discussion is given in the description box and also in the comment section for the best interest of the viewers. Now let us start with our first news article. Now this news article is from the editorial page. So far we have discussed about the hardships which are caused by the COVID-19 pandemic but today's article throws light on vaccine distribution system and also on the role of the private players in vaccine distribution. The syllabus relevant for this analysis is highlighted here for your reference. Please go through it. See, India plans to vaccinate 300 million people against COVID-19 over the next six to seven months. The government is planning to give its priority to the healthcare workers and other frontline workers followed by everyone who is above the age of 50 years. So this will mean that roughly 20% of the population will be vaccinated by July or August 2021. And most of the vaccines that are currently in the spotlight requires two doses. So due to this reason, the government has to acquire at least 600 million doses. Fortunately, the Pune's Serum Institute of India is the world's largest producer of vaccines and there are even reports that the government has already made a deal with the Serum Institute to acquire 500 million doses of the vaccine. Also, there are other vaccine options which includes the Bharat Biotex Covaxin and the Russian Sputnik 5 and know that both are under clinical trials. So if there are no last minute problems, the government will not have any problems in acquiring the required numbers of doses. So the problem of acquiring vaccines is not an issue. Then what is the issue? What about the distribution? See, there are a few issues which need to be discussed here. The most important is the principle underlying the triage scheme which was adopted by the government. See, triage means the assignment of degrees of urgency to decide the order of treatment of many patients. In the current case, it is to determine which group should be vaccinated first or who should be given the priority. See, the government's strategy of giving priority to frontline workers and also the elderly people is in line with the practice which is followed by the UK and the US. And know that the logic behind this is to protect those who are most likely to be affected or infected in the future as well as those who are most vulnerable to the health consequences of this infection. And it is to be noted that a vaccination drive such as this should have two objectives. First is providing the protection to those vaccinated and the second is to minimize or at least slow down the speed and spread of the viral transmission. For example, the priority given to health care professionals satisfies both these objectives as they have a high level of exposure and they also act as active disease vectors since they interact with large number of people. But on the other hand, the priority given to older people may not actually minimize the total social and economic cost inflicted by the virus. See, the author says that the elderly people are less mobile and have a lower level of social interaction and hence they are less likely to spread the virus. On the other hand, a younger person who interacts with a large number of people is both more likely to be infected and also to transmit the infection to others. So this suggests that densely populated areas like Dharavi slum should receive far more attention than they are likely to get under the current strategy. So it means the dense areas as well as young people should be vaccinated with priority in order to stop the virus spread. Then comes the important problem of involving private hospitals that is whether the government will allow private players in the vaccination process. See the government's procurement strategy seems to depend entirely on domestic resources and to rely entirely on public resources for distribution without the involvement of private hospitals. Moreover, the government plans to bear the entire cost of vaccination which is very important and also appropriate as crucial health facilities should be accessible to all. But here the question is should the government allow private players to sell vaccines and make profit? Any such government approval enables the rich people to jump in the vaccination queue. But this will inevitably attract criticism that the government is serving the interest of only the richer groups of society. So the government should ensure that allowing private players will not decrease the availability of the vaccine to the poor section of the society. Another potential benefit of allowing private players is by vaccinating more people, the spread of the virus can be slowed down. Now next, the author talks about the pricing of the COVID-19 vaccines. For instance, it is said that for the European Union, the company Moderna is charging $18 per dose while the Pfizer's price is 12 euro. But in contrast, Indian newspapers have mentioned that Pfizer is contemplating a price of $37 per dose in India. Now see this, it is almost three times that of what European Union is paying. As India is a very big market, India should bargain hard and should get the vaccines at a reasonable price so that we can ensure that every citizen of India is vaccinated. So this is all about what the author has to tell about the vaccine distribution system and the role of private players in vaccine distribution. With this, let us move on to the next news article. Now let us take up this editorial article which was written by MK Narayanan, who was a former national security advisor and also the former governor of West Bengal. See as we are close to the wake of a new year, the author suggests some of the do's and don'ts that has to be adopted in order to make 2021 to be an era of ease for India. So let us discuss this editorial article in detail. See the author splits his message into two parts, that is in the first part he mentions about the various challenges faced by India in the ongoing year which still remain undersold. In the second part, he suggests some measures to overcome it in the way ahead. First let us move on to the first part of this editorial where the author points out some of the undersold challenges of India. First comes the COVID-19 pandemic which affected almost all strata of the society, irrespective of differences and which also resulted in a significant number of fatalities. Now the author points that, in spite of updates regarding the vaccines from various platforms, there is no remarkable change in its way out. Now another prominent situation of unease was caused by the unprecedented situation with China in the eastern Ladakh which resulted in the death of many Indian soldiers and this resulted in a break or pause in the India-China relations. Similarly another area to be focused is India's economy which at present is in recession. India has further slipped down from its place in the global indicators like the Human Development Index and also the Global Economic Freedom Index. Now let us see in brief about these two indices. See the Human Development Index is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development. When we tell key dimensions of human development, it includes a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and having a decent standard of living. And here the scores of these three Human Development Index dimensions are then aggregated into a composite index using geometric mean. This was created to emphasis that people and their capabilities should be the major and ultimate criteria for evaluating the development of a country and not its economic growth alone. The Human Development Index can be used to question the national policy choices asking how two countries with the same level of gross national income per capita can end up with different human development outcomes. But here we should note that the Human Development Index simplifies and captures only a part of what human development entails and it does not reflect on inequalities, poverty, human security, empowerment etc. Now talking about the Global Economic Freedom Index, see this index is published in the Economic Freedom of the World and it measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom. Personal choices, voluntary exchange, freedom to enter market and compete, and security of the person and privately owned property etc. are considered to be the cornerstones of economic freedom. Here note that 42 data points are used to construct a summary index along with a gender, legal rights adjustment which measures the extent to which women have the same level of economic freedom as men. The degree of economic freedom is measured in five broad areas and this includes size of the government, legal system and property rights, sound money, freedom to trade internationally and finally regulations. Now let us come back to the editorial. See the other undersold challenges pointed out by the author includes India's internal problems such as the nexalate violence, resentment caused by the altered status of Jammu and Kashmir, then West Bengal assembly elections and also the relationship between the center and other opposition ruled states. And the challenges also include political polarization, engineering defection, vitriolic public discourse, diminishing role and utility of the parliament and also the legislation especially those that aggravates an already decisive policy like that of the anti-conversion laws and the recent farm laws and farmers agitation. On knowing about the undersold challenges that created a sense of unease during the year 2020, let us now move on to the next part of the editorial in which the author suggests some measures to overcome them and to restore a sense of ease in the upcoming year 2021. Initially, he remarks that restoring India will be a tough task due to the question of where to begin with. However, going further, he mentions some of the means through which it can be achieved. Let us look at them one by one. See with the aspects of electoral success, popularity and the absence of serious competitors in the opposition, the ruling party enjoys the freedom to undertake major changes which includes structural and economic shifts. So, the person in authority play a key role in deciding the future of India in 2021. This shows that the need to deliver on promises and to understand the seriousness of new challenges relies in the ruling government. Hence, effective leadership with the aim at achieving tangible outcomes with the ability to deliver on current issues proves to be a key role in restoring India. Now, when it comes to India's foreign policy, especially in relation with the current standoff with China in Ladakh sector, India should think of better options which are available to resolve the ties. Here, the author notes that the conflict can work on to India's disadvantage and moreover, it has got the capability to enable many of India's neighbors to play China against India. So, because of such reasons, it becomes mandatory for India to come up with a whole new set of paradigm of ideas based on which further actions can be formulated. The next focus should be on improving the economy. Here, the author suggests that India should enhance its competitive advantage in face with other nations, especially with those that perform better than us in various global indices. It is important for India to enhance its export capacity and to avoid the notions which suggest India to look more inward than outward. India should also focus in making the best use of its diverse strength by using its ability to utilize all the available opportunities. The author also notes that equal attention should be paid for job creation, especially for the youth who are India's most abiding assets. The government must take urgent steps to set right the disruptions in the labor market, which was caused by the pandemic and other contributory factors. Creating new jobs in new industries grows to be the need of the earth. The importance of measures like stimulating demand, which ensures the growth of job opportunities should not be underestimated. And finally comes the need to restore confidence in the constitutional properties, practices and principles of the government in the upcoming year. Here, the author notes that measures affecting an improvement in central state relations, particularly between Delhi and the states ruled by the opposition parties, should be focused. Effective cooperation between the governments of the center and the states must be restored as early as possible, so that the confidence can be instilled about India's democratic future. Now with this we have come to the end of analysis of this news article. Now let us move on to the next news. Now we have this advertisement from the West Bengal government. See the government of West Bengal is planning to build a deep sea port at Tajpur at a cost of 15,000 crores. So this will be a greenfield project and will be the state's first deep sea project, which is expected to give employment to around 25,000 people. So in this regard, let us now see what is a deep sea port and we'll also see what is meant by greenfield and brownfield projects. See a deep water port is different from regular ports in respect of the depth of the water. A deep water port is usually made up for the usage of very large and heavily loaded ships. Here the depth of the water helps get them access to the ports. Know that regular ports are by and large of recreational types where the water is not more than 20 feet deep, whereas deep water port is compatible with the large heavy loaded ships, which may require the water depth to be 30 feet or even more. Currently, India does not have many deep water ports, so the union government and other state governments are developing greenfield deep sea ports. Recently, the government approved the Vadawan port in Maharashtra as the 13th major port of India. And the two largest container handling ports in the country are the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Mandra Port. Also, we have the Virgingham International Sea Port in Kerala. Now let us see what are greenfield and brownfield projects. See greenfield project means the company which is going to start the project will start the project where a prior project do not exist before. This means the project will be started afresh. In infrastructure terms, the projects on the unused lands where there is no need to remodel or demolish an existing structure are called greenfield projects. Now what are brownfield projects? See the projects which are modified or upgraded are called brownfield projects. This means if we start a new project or investment over a pre-existing project, then it is a brownfield project. Now let us see some of the examples of greenfield projects. See building a new production facility in a foreign country. It refers to investment in manufacturing, office or other physical company related structure or group of structures in an area where no previous facilities exist. Now taking the example of a brownfield project, when we purchase or release an existing production facility in order to launch a new production activity, then it is known as a brownfield project or a brownfield investment. So in this discussion, we show about deep water ports, greenfield projects and brownfield projects. With this, let us move on to the next news. Now have a look at this question. It is based on this news article which talks about the inner line permit. In this context, it is important for us to know what is this permit, who issues this permit and what is the basis upon which this inner line permit system exists. See this inner line permit is based on Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873. This system mandates special permission for entry into the ILP states by Indians from other states. Therefore, this permit system regulates the visit of Indians to states where the ILP regime is prevalent under this Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873. Now what is the objective of this inner line permit system? See the main aim of ILP system is to prevent the settlement of other Indian nationals in the states where the ILP regime is prevalent. And this is in order to protect the indigenous or tribal population of those particular states. Now let us see what are the states where such a permit system exists in India. See as of now, this system exists in four states of India which are Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland. In December 2019, Manipur was added into this existing ILP system. So this means citizens of other states require the inner line permit for visiting these four states. And know that the permit is issued by the concerned state governments. Now pressure groups in the northeast view this permit as a shield against the entry of illegal immigrants. So this is the permit system for Indians. Now what about the permit system for foreigners when it comes to notified protected areas or restricted areas? See here when we see protected areas, it refers to areas declared as protected areas under the foreigners protected areas order 1958. And restricted areas refers to restricted areas declared under the foreigners restricted areas order 1963. So these are the protected areas or restricted areas for entry and stay of foreigners. For both protected areas and restricted areas, if they fall on states, then the appropriate authorities from either the central government or state government will be issuing the permits. And as of now, the protected areas or restricted areas are present in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and the Union Territory of Jumman Kashmir. So it can be said that mainly the international border areas and other sensitive areas are under the protected areas or restricted area system. And this is to restrict the presence of foreigners in such areas. Now with this information, have a look at this question with reference to the Inner Line Permit System. Consider the following statements. The first statement reads, it aims to prevent settlement of other Indian nationals in the states with Inner Line Permit regime. Yes, this statement is correct. Now the second statement reads, it is implemented under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873. Yes, this statement is also correct. So in this question, we have to identify the correct statement or statements. Since both the statements are correct, the correct answer for this question is option C, both 1 and 2. With this, let us move on to the next news. Now have a look at this question. It is based on this opiate article which deals with Sudan. It talks about the influenced give and take involved in the recently concluded Sudan-Israel deal. Remember, Sudan is the nation that hosted the 4th Arab League Summit in 1967. This summit was held in Khartoum in Sudan after the six day war involving Israel in June 1967. And in the last day of the summit, Khartoum resolutions were issued. The resolutions included the famous three no's against the Israel. That is no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel and no negotiations with Israel. Sudan's stance has now changed almost after a duration of around 53 years that it will normalize relations with Israel based on a deal brokered by the United States of America. And in return, very recently, Sudan was removed from the US designation as state sponsor of terrorism. Here, the author is critical about the Sudan's present government that such a position of Sudan must be based on the will of its people and not based on the interference by a superpower like United States of America. So, in this context, let us see a few important information about Sudan. See, Sudan shares border with six countries. Let us see them in counter-clockwise from the top. They are Egypt, Libya, Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea. And interestingly, many may not think that Sudan has a coastline. See, it has a maritime boundary of around 835 kilometers with Red Sea. Until 2011, geographically, Sudan was the largest country in Africa. In 2011, Sudan and South Sudan. This happened in the mid-July 2011 as the then 10 southern states of Sudan voted overwhelmingly to break away from Sudan. Now, when we talk about the climate of Sudan, know that Sudan experiences rare and occasional rainfall in the far northern desert. In the southern part of the country, there is relatively abundant and frequent rainfall. And the rainy season is of 6 to 9 months in the southern part of the country. In most years, the central Sudan has got enough rain to support agriculture. But there was a lack of rain in 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. And this has caused severe drought in the country. Dust storms accompanying the arrival of the annual southwestern rains in May-July months are common in the central and parts of the northern Sudan. And this reduces the visibility and causes much discomfort to the population. The main temperatures and the daily maximums of temperature are generally high in Sudan. In the desert areas, the temperatures can be cool at night. And there are severe environmental problems in the country because of desertification, deforestation and land degradation. So, these are some of the information with reference to Sudan. Now, have a look at this question. It is a country in the African continent. It shares maritime border with Red Sea. Its capital is in Asmara. The above description refers to which of the following countries. See, the correct answer is Option D, Eritrea. Now, see, the capital of South Sudan is Juba, capital of Sudan is Kartham and capital of Madagascar is Antananarivo. With this, let us move on to the next news. Now, see this third question. It is with reference to this news article which talks about the attempts of the forest department of Tamil Nadu in treating an injured elephant that has been found roaming in the Bukkapuram, which is a buffer zone of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. Here, kumkis will be deployed in case if there is no considerable improvement in the elephant's condition. In this context, let us have a brief understanding of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and kumkis. See, the Mudumalai Tiger Conservation Foundation, a Tamil Nadu trust, has been established in accordance with the provisions of the section 38x of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, which was amended in 2006. It is located in the Nilagiri district of Tamil Nadu, which is at the tri-junction of three states including Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It plays a unique role by forming a part of the Nilagiri Biosphere Reserve, which is the first biosphere reserve in India declared during 1986. The climate of Mudumalai is moderate with cold weather during December-January and hot conditions during the months of March and April. Now talking about the flora and fauna, the reserve contains tall grasses, bamboos of giant variety, valuable timber species like teak, rosewood and several species of endemic flora. Its animals include tiger, elephant, Indian gore, panther, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, mouse deer, common langur, Malabar gen squirrel, wild dog, mongoose, hyena and a wide variety of more than 260 species of birds. And know that 8% of bird species which are found in India are recorded in Mudumalai. So, this is about Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. Now let us see what is meant by kumki. See, kumki are specially trained captive elephants which are used in various operations like to trap wild elephants, scare them into the forest and sometimes to rescue or to provide medical treatment to an injured or trapped wild elephant. The term may be more specifically applied to trained female elephants which are used as decoys. They are trained by expert Mahots, some of who are from the Kartanaika tribal community who are known to have intimate knowledge and understanding of wild elephants. And know that they are not same as the other captive elephants. As per the forest officials, even though there are more enquiries for kumkis, they are used only after the traditional methods are exhausted. So, this is all about Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and kumki elephants. With this information, have a look at this question. It is a previous year prelims question which was asked in 2014. Consider the following pairs, Dampa Tiger Reserve and Mizoram, Gumti Wildlife Sanctuary and Sikkim, then Saramati Peak and Nagaland. Which of the above pairs is or are correctly matched? See here the correct answer is option C, 1 and 3 only because Gumti Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Tripura and not in Sikkim. With this, we have analysed all the relevant news articles from today's The Hindu newspaper. Now, let us move on to the practice questions discussion section based on today's news analysis. Now, see this first question. Consider the following statements. Statement 1 reads, Tajpur Port in West Bengal will be set up as the 13th major port of India. See, this statement is incorrect because Vadaven Port in Maharashtra is said to become the 13th major port of India. Now, the second statement reads, the Tajpur Port once developed will boast iron and steel exports from Kharagpur. See, this statement is correct. Know that Tajpur Port is situated in West Bengal and will serve the regions of Kharagpur, Burduan, Purulia, etc. So, here we have to identify the correct statement or statements. Since first statement is incorrect and second statement is correct, the correct answer for this question is option B, 2 only. Now, we have two means practice questions. Please write your answers and post it in the comment section. Our feedback will be given in a reasonable timeframe. Now, we have come to the end of analysis of all the news articles taken up for today's discussion and also the discussion of practice questions. If you like this video, please press the like button, comment, share and do subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy YouTube channel for more videos and updates related to civil service preparation. Thank you.