 A very good evening aspirants, welcome to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankara A.S. Akirami. Today's date is 23rd of June 2023, displayed here are the list of news articles that we are going to discuss today. Now without much delay, let us get into the first news article discussion. Take a look at this front page article. As you all know, our prime minister is currently in the US on an official state visit. The article given here informs us about the ongoing visit. So in this discussion, we'll see some of the important points mentioned in the article. See, after our prime minister's meeting with the US President, Mr. Joe Biden, a number of announcements were made. Agreements were signed for defence cooperation, critical emerging technologies, health, energy, mobility, environment, visa and space technologies. So as part of this discussion, let us see some of the deliverables announced in detail. First, let us take the defence sector. See, the first significant announcement is the launch of innovative platform IndusX. The inaugural session of the platform was hosted in Washington DC by the US-India Defence Council. The platform will aid in defence industrial collaboration between both the countries. Second most significant announcement in the defence sector is the MOU announced between General Electric GE and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited HIL. See, we all know about Tejas Light Combat Aircraft MK1, right? Although we climb it as an indigenious aircraft, the significant component of the aircraft, that is the jet engine, is procured from GE. The light combat aircraft MK1 uses GE manufactured F-404 engines. The LCA Mk2 and AMCA, that is advanced medium combat aircraft, which is under development, need a more powerful engine. The GE manufactured F-414 engines correctly fits the requirements of LCA Mk2 and AMCA. So, the MOU includes a provision for the potential joint production of GE Aerospace F-414 engines in India. This will give a great boost to the India fighter jet program. In addition to this, GE will continue to collaborate with the Indian government on the AMCA Mk2 engine program. In addition to this, steps are being taken to clear the bureaucratic roadblocks for the purchase of armed MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones by India from the US. The MQ-9Bs will be assembled in India. So, these are the three significant announcements made in regard to the defence sector. Now, coming to the space sector, the two countries have agreed on a mission to the International Space Station by 2024. India also plans to sign the Artemis Accords on space exploration. The framework is also signed by two dozen nations. The Artemis Accords will govern joint missions and civilian space exploration. In terms of US visa policy, also some announcements were made. See, during the pandemic period, the US announced a pilot project that allowed for the renewal of visas domestically. That is, people need not go outside the US to get their visa renewal stamps. Steps are being taken to extend this facility to H-1B and L-1 visa by 2024. There is also a plan to open a US consulate in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. India also plans to reopen its consulate in Seattle. Moving on, in the high-tech manufacturing sector, the US semiconductor and chip-making company, Micro Technology, announced that it would invest $875 million in establishing a chip assembly and testing plant in Gujarat. Apart from this, India also joined the Minerals Security Partnership MSP. The MSP is a US-led partnership to create critical energy minerals supply chains. India and the United States established a joint Indo-US quantum coordination mechanism. This will facilitate joint research between the public and private sectors across both countries. Finally, in terms of trade, the two nations have agreed to terminate six outstanding disputes at the World Trade Organization. India also agreed to remove retaliatory tariffs, which it had imposed in response to the US imposed tariff on Indian-made steel and aluminium. Apart from this, in the arena of skilling our PM and the first lady of the US, they participated in an event titled India and US Skilling for the Future. The event focused all workforce redevelopment across higher education institutions to expand and enhance access to quality education across society. So, these are some of the important highlights of the current US state visit by our Prime Minister. Make note of all these points and use it in your main sansa writing. So, with these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this science page article. As you can see in the title, this article is speaking about liver disease. See, generally, regular and uncontrolled alcohol consumption could impact the health of the liver and it can cause alcohol-induced fatty liver disease. Apart from alcohol consumption, a sedentary lifestyle, that is the disc-bound lifestyle. Then a high calorie diet and excess fats associated with obesity and high blood sugar can also impact the health of the liver. See, if the liver gets impacted from these non-alcoholic factors, then it is called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, NAF-LD. This article provides some data about NAF-LD. So, in this news article discussion, we'll just brush up some basics about liver and then we'll understand the data provided in the news article. Before that, the syllabus relevant to this news article is highlighted here for your reference. You can go through it. Firstly, let us understand the functions of the liver. See, the liver is the largest solid organ in the body. It is located in the upper right part of the abdomen. It is present on top of the stomach and intestines. The liver performs various functions in our body. Now, we'll see them one by one. Firstly, the liver controls most chemical levels in the blood. This is because all the blood leaving the stomach and intestines passes through the liver. So, the liver processes this blood and it breaks down the remaining food items in the blood. By doing this function, the liver controls the chemical levels in the blood, and it also creates nutrients for the body to use. Secondly, the liver breaks down medicines in the blood into multiple forms so that it is easier for our body to use such medicines. Thirdly, the liver secretes a clear yellow or orange fluid called bile. See, the bile fluid helps to break down the fats and the bile also prepares the fat for further digestion and absorption. So, the liver helps to control unnecessary fats in our body. Fourthly, the liver removes harmful pathogens like viruses or bacteria and also the toxins from our blood. So, it helps us to resist infections by making immune factors. And the other important function of the liver includes making proteins for the body, storing of iron, creating substances to help the blood clot and so on. So, this is about liver. Now, moving on to see about fatty liver disease. See, fatty liver disease is a common condition caused by the storage of extra fat in the liver. A healthy liver contains a small amount of fat and it is normal. But it becomes a problem when the fat reaches 5% to 10% of our liver's weight. In most cases, fatty liver disease does not cause any serious problems and does not prevent your liver from functioning normally. But for 7% to 30% of people with a fatty liver, their disease gets worse over time. Know that fatty liver disease progresses through three stages. The first stage is called Steto-Hapatitis. In this stage, the liver becomes swollen and it damages the tissues of the liver. The second stage is called fibrosis. In this stage, the scar tissue forms on the damaged part of the liver. And the final stage is called cirrhosis. In this stage, the extensive hard scar tissue replaces the healthy tissue of the liver. The hard scar tissue slows down the functions of the liver and sometimes it even blocks the liver function entirely. Apart from this, cirrhosis can also lead to liver cancer. So these are the three stages associated with fatty liver disease. Now moving on to see about the symptoms of fatty liver disease. See people with fatty liver disease often have no symptoms until the disease progresses to cirrhosis stage. If the people have symptoms, they may include abdomen pain, nausea, weight loss, jaundice, swollen abdomen and legs, extreme tiredness and weakness. So these are all the symptoms. Now we will look at the types of fatty liver disease. See there are two main forms of fatty liver disease. They are alcohol-induced fatty liver disease and non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease. Alcohol-induced fatty liver disease is caused by regular alcohol consumption. The non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease is caused by excess fat, high blood pressure, diabetes and unhealthy lifestyle. So this is all you have to know about liver and fatty liver disease. Now we will look at the data provided in the news article. As we just now saw, the non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease is caused by excess fat, high blood pressure, diabetes and unhealthy lifestyle. And note that the advanced form of NAF-LD is called non-alcoholic, Stato-Hapatitis NA-SH. See globally the prevalence of NAF-LD is around 25%. Then the prevalence of NAF-LD in Asia is around 27%. But if we take India, the prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is much higher than the global and Asia average. In India the prevalence of NAF-LD is seen in 39% of adults and in 35% of children. Now coming to non-alcoholic Stato-Hapatitis NA-SH cases. See the global prevalence of NA-SH is estimated between 2% to 6%. But in India the case of NA-SH are steadily rising. So the prevalence of NA-SH will lead to cirrhosis of the liver and later it also causes liver cancer. Now coming to another data provider in the news article. Some healthy professionals say that 50% of diabetic patients, then 75% of obese persons and 100% of the people with both obese and diabetic condition have non-alcoholic related fatty liver disease. The professionals further say that even non-ubese people can develop both NAF-LD and NA-SH. This is because of lack of activity and eating junk food. Apart from this they also said that childhood obesity is also increasing at an alarming rate due to the conception of junk foods. So this is about the data provided in the news article. Now let us see what can we do to maintain a healthy liver. See there is no medication specifically for fatty liver disease. So we have to do some lifestyle changes to significantly improve our liver health. Some of the measures like avoiding alcohol, doing exercise regularly, then taking medicines to manage diabetes and cholesterol can help us to prevent fatty liver disease. See our liver has an amazing ability to repair itself. So if we do these activities we will surely reduce liver fat and we will be able to reserve early liver damage. In addition to this the government should also educate the public about the non-alcoholic factors like overeating and a high calorie diet that causes damage to the liver. This will help to reduce fatty liver disease significantly in our country. That's all regarding this news article. In this news article we learnt about liver, its functions, then we saw about fatty liver disease and its types and we saw how to prevent them. So these learnt points and now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article. The news article is about an order given by the District Consumer Disputes Red Result Forum Chennai. The news here is that a person booked a OLA e-scooter for 1.10 lakh rupees. The company did not deliver the e-scooter for about a year and OLA is asking the person an additional 40,000 for an upgraded version for the e-scooter. District Consumer Disputes Red Result Forum ordered OLA to deliver the e-scooter model booked by that person or repay 1.10 lakh rupees at 9 percentage interest under 2 lakh rupees fine. So this is about the article given here. So in this context let us see if you fax about National Consumer Disputes Red Result Commission NCDRC. See the National Consumer Disputes Red Result Commission NCDRC is a quasi-judicial body. It was established under the Consumer Protection Act 1986. The primary objective of the commission is to ensure speedy and effective resolution of consumer disputes. The commission is headquartered in New Delhi. Now talking about the organizational structure. See the NCDRC is made up of a president and at least four members including both judicial and non-judicial members. The president is a judicial member and must be a current or retired judge of Supreme Court of India or a sitting or retired Chief Justice of a High Court. The judicial members can be current or retired judges from the Supreme Court or High Courts. The qualification for the non-judicial members is that they should have sufficient knowledge and experience in consumer matters. Remember the National Commission is presently headed by Honorable Ms. Justice Deepa Sharma and has 10 members. Now let's quickly see about the powers and functions of the commission. See according to section 21 of Consumer Protection Act 1986 the National Commission will take up cases when the value is over 2 crore rupees. Section 21 also states that the commission has appellate jurisdiction over the orders of state consumer commissions or the district consumer forum. Also note that according to section 23 of the Consumer Protection Act 1986 a person not satisfied with the order of NCDRC can appeal before the Supreme Court within 30 days. In addition to this the National Commission has the authority to summon and enforce the attendance of witnesses, examine them on oath and compel the production of documents. The commission has the power to enforce its orders and decisions by issuing appropriate directions to the concerned parties. It can also initiate class action suits on behalf of a group of consumers with the same interest. Finally in order to help achieve the objectives of the Consumer Protection Act the National Commission has also been conferred with the powers of administrative control over all the state commissions. The National Commission generally oversees the functions of the state commissions and the district commissions to ensure that the objective and purposes of the Consumer Protection Act is achieved. So these are some of the important points that we have to remember about NCDRC. Make note of these points. Usually once in a blue moon we get an article like this so make note of it and revise it multiple times. So these are the points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article. The governor of the Reserve Bank of India said that the battle against inflation is not finished yet. It is important to keep a close watch on prices to maintain stability because there are uncertainties like monsoon, rainfall patterns and adverse climate events. So he says that the Monetary Policy Committee's job was only half 10. So in this context let us learn facts about the Monetary Policy Committee MPC. See the MPC is a committee of the Reserve Bank of India RBI. It is responsible for deciding the benchmark policy interest rate that is reported to control inflation within a specific target level. Before the MPC was established the RBI governor used to make monetary policy decisions with the help of a technical advisory committee. But now the decision making process has been more transparent and accountable through the committee based approach. See the idea of setting up an MPC has been discussed for quite some time. Various committees and reports recommended information. They said that a committee based approach would bring more transparency and accountability to monetary policy decisions. So finally in 2015 the RBI and the Indian government signed the Monetary Policy Framework Agreement. This led to the establishment of the MPC. Now let's quickly go through the functions of MPC. See the functions of MPC revolve around maintaining price stability and achieving inflation rates set by the government. The RBI's primary goal is to contain inflation at 4% with the standard deviation of 2% in the medium term. To ensure accountability the RBI has to explain its actions in a report to the government if it fails to reach the specified inflation targets. So now let us understand how the MPC is constituted. See the committee consists of 6 members the RBI governor serves as the chairperson, the deputy governor in charge of monetary policy is also a member. One official nominated by the RBI board is part of the committee and the remaining 3 members represent the Indian government. The 3 government nominees are appointed by the central government based on the recommendation of a search come selection committee. This committee includes the cabinet secretary, the RBI governor, the secretary of the department of economic affairs, ministry of finance and 3 experts in economics or banking nominated by the government. See the decision making in the MPC follows a majority vote. If there is a tie the RBI governor has the casting vote which means his vote will be the deciding factor. The committee's decision is binding on the RBI and it has to implement the recommended changes in the policy rate. Then to ensure transparency the minutes of the MPC meetings are published by the RBI after 14 days. The RBI also publishes a document explaining how it plans to implement the committee's decisions. The MPC meetings are confidential know that a minimum of 4 members including the governor or the deputy governor must be present to constitute a quorum. Also the RBI is obligated to provide necessary information to the MPC for decision making and if any member request additional information it must be provided to all members. So in summary the MPC plays a crucial role in determining the rapport rate and maintaining price stability in India. It follows a committee based approach to decision making. That's all regarding MPC. So these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this tiny article Yesterday the LNT company and the DRDO signed a contract to build two air independent propulsion system modules for the Kalwari class of submarines of the Indian Navy. This is about the news article given here. In this context let us understand the air independent propulsion that is AIP system. First of all know that the air independent propulsion AIP system is used in submarines. See we need fuels like petrol, diesel, kerosene etc to run all types of vehicles like cars, airplanes ships and submarines right? In India most of the submarines are operated using diesel fuel and they are called conventional submarines. Note that some of the submarines in the world are also run using nuclear fuel and they are called nuclear powered submarines. Even India have one such nuclear powered submarine called INS Arihant which has a small nuclear reactor to produce the energy. The main advantage of the nuclear power submarine is that it does not need oxidizer like atmospheric oxygen to burn the fuel. But what is the case with diesel run engines? See the diesel powered engines often need oxygen to burn the fuel. It is very easy for the land based diesel vehicles to obtain atmospheric oxygen to burn the diesel. But this is not the same in the case of conventional submarines. See the submarines are usually operated under the water. The conventional submarines mostly generate electricity with the help of diesel generators. The diesel generators use diesel to run the power generator which in turn drives an electric motor. This helps in the movement of submarines and also the power is used to reach as the batteries of submarines. As we all know in the water the oxygen is in the form of dissolved oxygen so the diesel powered submarines aren't able to make use of dissolved oxygen to burn the diesel. Therefore the conventional diesel powered submarines have to come to the surface daily to get atmospheric oxygen for fuel combustion. Apart from this the conventional diesel engines also produce some noise while running under water. So there is a possibility that the submarines can be identified by the enemies surveillance tools like sonar radar and so on. And here is where the AIP system comes into picture. See if the submarine is fitted with an AIP system it needs to take in oxygen only once a week. There are many types of AIP systems which include open cycle systems, closed cycle diesel engines, closed cycle steam turbines, sterling cycle engines and fuel cells based engines. See India is currently using a fuel cell based air independent propulsion system in diesel electric submarines. So we will restrict our discussion to fuel cells alone. See in a fuel cell based AIP an electrolytic fuel cell is used to generate electricity which in turn used to charge the batteries of submarines. So there will be minimum use of diesel to run the submarine. Know that the fuel cell uses hydrogen and oxygen to produce the energy. For this purpose the liquid oxygen is stored in the tanks and they are used as a fuel. So it is not necessary for the submarine to come to the surface often to obtain atmospheric oxygen. Therefore it is enough to come to the surface only once in a week. This is how AIP works. Now we shall see some of the advantages and disadvantages of AIP system. See the fuel cell based AIP system let out only water as the waste product. This ensures less marine pollution. Apart from this the fuel cells are very efficient and they do not have moving parts. So the submarines with fuel cells emit low sound and they do not fall under any means surveillance tools. So these are some of the advantages of the AIP system. Now talking about the disadvantages as we saw earlier to run the fuel cells the liquid oxygen that is stored in the tanks are used. This phenomenon increases the size and weight of the submarine or there would be capacity of weapons and sailors. Apart from this the submarines with the AIP systems are somewhat costlier than the normal submarines. These are the disadvantages associated with AIP systems. So that is all regarding this news article discussion with these learnt points and now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now take a look at this science page article. This is an interesting article about cod blood banking. See cod blood means the blood found in the umbilical cord and placenta after a baby is born. It contains valuable stem cells and these cells have the potential to develop into different types of cells. Also they can be used in the treatment of certain blood, immune and metabolic disorders. So with this basic understanding now let us jump straight into the detailed explanation of this article on cod blood banking. Before that the syllabus relevant to this news article is highlighted here for your reference you can go through it. See just now we saw what is cod blood. Now we will understand what is cod blood banking. See cod blood banking refers to the process of collecting and preserving the blood found in the umbilical cord and placenta after a baby is born. For those who don't know the placenta is a temporary organ that absorbs nutrients and oxygen from the mother's blood and transports it to the baby. It also transfers the baby's waste products and carbon dioxide back to the mother for excretion. Then the umbilical cord it only connects the placenta and fetus. So all the nutrients, oxygen and antibodies pass from the placenta to the baby through the umbilical cord. So as I said earlier cod blood is rich in valuable stem cells and they have the potential to develop into various type of cells. Therefore they can be used in the treatment of certain blood immune and metabolic disorders. Now coming to the article, the article begins by highlighting the case of Upasana Kamineni the wife of actor Ramcharan. She recently announced her decision to preserve her baby umbilical cord. This choice has been made by other celebrities also like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Now you may wonder what are they going to do with it. See it will be used in HHS CT. Now what is this HHS CT? Here HHS CT stands for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. See basically it is a medical procedure where stem cells from cod blood are used to treat specific disorders. However the success of HHS CT relies on matching certain markers between the cod blood and the patient. Imagine a patient named Dora is diagnosed with a long-threatening blood disorder. Now HHS CT is a potential treatment option for her and the medical team has identified a suitable cod blood donor named Sara. See the cod blood given by Sara contains hematopoietic stem cells. We know that these stem cells have the ability to develop into various types of blood cells right? Therefore these stem cells can be transplanted into Dora's body to replace or regenerate her damaged or diseased blood cells. So here the cod blood donor and the patient's markers need to be compatible. Here markers are genetic characteristics present on the surface of cells. These markers help the immune system distinguish between self and non-self cells. See the goal is to find a cod blood donor whose markers closely match Sara's. A closer match indicates a higher chance of compatibility. This is because the immune system will not see the transplanted cells as foreign. So it will not affect the new cells. See over the past decade cod blood banking has gained popularity among new parents. This has led to the establishment of numerous cod blood banking facilities across the country. But is cod blood banking really needed? Should we consider this when we become parents? See the article here highlights that professional medical associates do not routinely recommend cod blood banking for pregnant women. Also it is important to note that the use of cod blood in transplants is actually decreasing. Also its potential use in regenerative medicine is still largely experimental. So the article concludes by noting that professional obstetric gynaecology associations do not routinely recommend cod blood banking. The Indian Academy of Periodrics suggests that private cod blood banking should only be considered if there is an existing family member who can benefit from allogenic stem cell transplantation. Finally we can say that cod blood banking is a complex subject with both benefits and limits. It has gained popularity but we need not consider it as a routine recommendation as per experts. So it is important for individuals and families to be well informed and make informed decisions based on their specific circumstances. That's all regarding this news article discussion. In this news article discussion we saw in detail about cod blood banking whether it is recommended by doctors or not. So with these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Look at this news article a minister from Tamil Nadu was arrested on a money laundering case recently. Later he was hospitalized due to his heart ailment but till date he is continuing as the minister. So in this context a MP from the opposition party has approached the Metra's high court to issue a writ of co-quarantor against the Tamil Nadu minister. So in this context let us understand the basics of writ petition and we will be seeing about co-quarantor writ. See writ in simple terms means a written order issued by court. Rit petition or filed when the fundamental rights of a person is violated. Both the supreme court and high court can issue rits. Supreme court issues rits under article 32 and high courts issue rits under article 226. Generally rits are issued against a court with lower jurisdiction or to an individual depending on the nature of the case. Now talking about the types of rits that can be issued by the supreme court or the high court. See both the supreme court and the high court can issue 5 types of rits. They include habeas corpus, mandamus prohibition, serratory and co-quarantor. See these rits are borrowed from English law. One important point to note here is that the parliament can empower any other court to issue writ under article 32. But so far no such provision has been made. So with this basic understanding let us look into co-quarantor writ. See the literal meaning of co-quarantor is by what authority or warrant. See it is issued against a person who holds the public office on what authority it is entitled to him. If the court finds a person is not entitled to the office then the court can take away the posting and declare the office to be vacant. So co-quarantor prevents someone holding a public office illegally. Remember this writ can be issued only against a public office of permanent character which is created by law or by the constitution. Here the difference between the co-quarantor and the other four writ petitions is that other rits can be sought only by the aggravated person. But in case of co-quarantor not necessarily the aggravated person but any person can seek this remedy. That's all regarding this news article. In this news article discussion we learned about the rits and in specifically we saw about co-quarantor writ. So these learnt the points. Now let us move on to the next part of the news article discussion which is the preliminary practice question discussion. Now take a look at this first question regarding N-C-D-R-C. Four statements are given and you have to choose how many statements are correct here. Statement one it is a quasi-judicial statutory body. Statement two it is established under consumer protection act 1986. Statement three it has appellate jurisdiction over state and district consumer dispute redressal commission. Statement four appeals against the orders of N-C-D-R-C can be made in the supreme court. See from the discussion we can say that all the statements given here are actually correct. So here the correct answer for the question is option D all four. Now moving on look at this question about N-P-C again three statements are given you have to choose how many statements are correct here. Statement one the monetary policy committee consists of members from both the government and the RBI. Statement two the decisions of the monetary policy committee are binding and have to be implemented by the RBI. Statement three the monetary policy committee is responsible for fixing the benchmark interest rate in India. See from our discussion we know that statement one and three are actually correct. Now here with the second statement you might have a doubt. The decisions taken by the MPC regarding monetary policy like policy report rate or actually binding on RBI. So this statement is also correct. So the correct answer for the question is option C all the three statements. Now moving on now here four fighter jets names are given and you have to find how many jets are using F-414 engines. First jet is F-18 Super Hornet then Tejas LCA Mark II then Dassault Rafale Sukai SU-57. See here only two jets use F-414 engines which includes F-18 Super Hornet and Tejas LCA MK II. Dassault Rafale uses Snecma M-88 engine and Sukai SU-57 uses a variant of Saturn AL-31 engine. So here the correct answer for the question is option B 2 only. Now the question displayed here is the quiz question for you today. Just go through the question try to answer it in the comment section. Now moving on the question displayed here is the mains practice question for you today. Just go through the question try to answer it in the comment section. With this we came to the end of the news article discussion. If you like the video hit like, do comment and don't forget to subscribe to Shankara IS Academy YouTube channel. Now thank you for listening.