 Good evening friends. I welcome you all to the Hindu Newspaper Analysis brought to you by the Shankarayas Academy. Today's date is 9th January 2024. Here are the list of articles which we are going to discuss today. So before entering our discussion, I have an important one to make. A new batch of geography optional classes will start from 20th January 2024. See the other details regarding the course is given here. You can go through this. Now back to business. Now let us start our discussion without delay. This front page article talks about the recent India-Maldives controversy over the mocking of Indian Prime Minister by three Maldivian officials for his post on ex-platform. See the political part of controversy is not directly relevant for our preliminary examination. But using this opportunity, let us quickly go through some of the locations of crucial islands on the Indian Ocean. See Indian Ocean has a relatively few islands compared with Atlantic or Pacific Ocean. Madagascar, Maldives, Seasills, Shokotra and Sri Lanka are continental fragments that are not large enough to be considered as a full continent. Other important islands in the regions are Lakshadip, Andamananikobar, Chagosarchipalego, Christmas Island, Kokos Island, Komoros, Mauritius and Reunion Islands. See, I have given you a list. But now let us see some of a brief on some of the islands. Firstly, let us take Lakshadip Islands. See, it is the smallest Union Territory of India located off the southwestern coast of India. It consists of Archipalego of 36 islands. Amindivi Islands are the northernmost island, while the Minicoi Island is the southernmost of the Lakshadip group of islands. Know that 8 degree channel or 8 degree north latitude separates the island of Minicoi and Maldives. Moreover, know that 9 degree channel separates the island of Minicoi from the mainland of Lakshadip Archipalego. Remember, Minicoi is the largest island in this group. Secondly, let us take Andamananikobar. See, it is a Union Territory of India located on the eastern part of Indian Ocean. It comprises of two island groups Andaman and Nikobar. Know that both of the islands are separated by 10 degree channel. Together, the island consists of 572 islands. The Baharan and Narkondham Island, located on the north of Port Blair, are the only active volcanoes of India. Thirdly, let us see Chagos Archipalego. See, it is a cluster of 7 atolls located in this central Indian Ocean. Here, an atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef that surrounds a water body called Lagoon. See, Diago Garcia is the biggest island on the Chagos Archipalego. See, it is a disputed territory between United Kingdom, UK and Mauritius. The dispute is over the forceful evacuation of Chagosians who are indigenous population from Diago Garcia by the UK authorities for the establishment of US military base in the region in 1960s. Fourthly, let us see about Christmas islands. See, it is located in the north-eastern part of Indian Ocean to the south of Java. It is actually an Australian Territory. Know that it is known for its unique ecosystem, including the annual red crab migration phenomenon and a diverse marine life of the islands. Fifthly, let us see about Kokos or Killing Islands. See, it is located to the southwest of Indonesia. Moreover, know that it is also a territory of Australia. It is known for its coral atolls, coconut palm-linked beaches and diverse bird life in this island. Now, let us see Komoros Island. See, Komoros is located between Madagascar and Mozambique. It is an archipelago with a unique blend of Arabian, African and French cultures. Finally, let us see Reunion Island. See, Reunion Island is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately 950 km east of the island of Madagascar and 175 km southwest of Mauritius. See, Reunion is an outermost region of the European Union and is a part of Eurozone. See, this is all about this discussion. In this discussion, we saw briefly about the various islands in Indian Ocean and their significance. With this learned points, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article for our analysis. Look at this editorial article. The article discusses the introduction of guidelines called Mulya Prava 2.0 by the University Grants Commission. See, these guidelines aims to instill human values and professional ethics in higher education institutions. Moreover, they seek to orient individuals and institutions towards the higher ideals like upholding the fundamental duty, constitutional values and fostering a deeper respect for the ethical conduct and national allegiance. However, the author of the article wants that this may not single-handedly eradicate the corruption or it will ensure ethical integrity. But he says that this guidelines is a step in the right direction to address the ethical challenges which are prevalent in our higher education institution. In a nutshell, he also says that it might require more comprehensive strategies and measures to effectively curb the unethical behavior. See, this is the crux of the news article given here. In this context, let us understand the issues in our education system and also let us see about the importance of value-based education. See, we shall approach this in our usual main's answer-writing approach. Now, let us see the main's question. School plays an important role in developing values and ethics in children. In the light of above statement, discuss the issues in the current education model and also discuss the advantages of a value-based education. See, this is the question. Now, let us see the area or the syllabus where we can fit this question. This topic will come under GS paper 4 under the syllabus of role of family, society, and educational institution in inculcating the values. So, okay. Now, let us see the skeleton of the question. See, this question is a pretty straightforward one. It demands us to answer the issues in the current education model. And the second part, it also asks us to enumerate the advantages of a value-based education. So, we can divide the body of the answer into two parts. See, this is the skeleton of the answer. Now, let us start answering the question. Firstly, let us see the introduction. See, the education system plays a pivotal role in shaping the ethical and moral values of the children. It also contributes significantly to the overall development of children. However, the current educational model faces several challenges while implementing a comprehensive value-based education. Simultaneously, a value-based educational approach offers numerous advantages in molding a responsible and ethical individuals of a nation. See, this can be your introduction. Now, moving on to the body part. Here, let us see the issues in the current educational model. Firstly, the issue is with the emphasis on the academic performance. See, the prevalent education system prioritizes academic excellence over the holistic development of the children. In this way, neglects the inculcation of the moral and ethical values of a society. Secondly, the issue is with the rote learning culture. See, the prevalent focus on the rote learning and memorization, rather than the practical application, it will hinder the critical thinking, creativity and moral reasoning among the students. Thirdly, the issue is with the lack of comprehensive curriculum. See, the absence of a structured curriculum which integrating the values and ethics leaves a very big gap in nurturing the moral and ethical consciousness among the students. Fourthly, the issue is with the teacher training and support. See, inadequate teacher training programs and support mechanisms fail to equip the educators with necessary skills so that they impact value-based education to the children. Also, India is also facing another issue of uneven distribution of qualified and skilled teachers along with the lack of continuous professional development programs also affecting the quality of teaching and learning outcomes. Fifthly, the issue is with the outdated curriculum. See, not only are the school curriculum is lacking a comprehensive approach, it is majorly outdated too. The curriculum often lacks relevance to the real-world application, modern skills and emerging industries and mostly it failed to keep pace with the changing societal needs and technological advancements. Finally, the issue is with the inequality in access. See, the disparities in the access to education between rural and urban areas as well as among the different socioeconomic backgrounds contribute to the unequal educational landscape. See, these are all some of the important issues faced by our education model. Now, let us move on to the second part of our body. In this part, we have to see the advantages of value-based education. Firstly, the advantage is with the character development. See, the value-based education cultivates the qualities like empathy, integrity, respect and responsibility. Moreover, in doing so, it will foster a well-rounded personality among the students. Secondly, the advantage is with the ethical decision making. See, it equips the students with the ability to discern the right from the wrong, enabling them to make ethical decisions in various aspects of their life. Students who are exposed to value-based education tend to be more socially conscious and actively engage in community service and societal welfare. Thirdly, critical thinking and decision making. See, value-based education encourages students to think critically and analyze the situation from an ethical perspective. This will enable them to make informed and morally sound decisions in various aspects of their life. Fourthly, value-based education enhances the conflict resolution skills among the students. See, teaching value education encourages the conflict resolution through dialogue, understanding and peaceful negotiation and promoting a harmonious environment in society. Fifthly, with respect to civic engagement. See, a value-based approach encourages active citizens' participation in various civic affairs, nurturing a sense of responsibility towards the nation. These are all some of the advantages of a value-based education. With this, let us wind up the body part of the answer and now let us move on to the conclusion. See, in conclusion, we can write like this. In summary, the existing education model struggled with a shortcoming in integrating values in it. But a shift towards a more comprehensive value-based education can produce a morally conscious individuals. It necessitates a revaluation of curriculum design, teacher training and overall education framework. See, we must prioritize values and ethics alongside the academic excellence of the students. See, this can be your inclusion. So, in our discussion, we saw about the issues in our current education models and in the second part, we also saw the advantages of moving on to the value-based education. See, this is all about the discussion. With these learned points, let us conclude this and take up the next news article for our analysis. Look at this news article. Yesterday, while dealing with the player by the convicts in the Bilkis Bono case, the Supreme Court said that the rule of law is very essential for the existence and flourishing of personal liberty or any other fundamental rights. See, this is the crux of the news article given here. So, in this discussion, let us understand two important concepts of rule of law and rule by law. Okay, firstly, we shall see about rule of law. See, the concept of rule of law was first propounded by a British Jewish named A. V. Dicey. He defines three principles that governs the rule of law. Let us see the three principles. Firstly, absence of arbitrary power. That is, no man can be punished except for a breach of law. Secondly, equality before law. That is, equal subjugation of all citizens to the ordinary law of the land. This indicates that no one is above law. Thirdly, the primacy of the rights of individuals. That is, constitution is the result of the right of individual as defined and enforced by the court of law. Rather than constitution being the source of individual rights. See, these are the three principles that governs the rule of law as given by A. V. Dicey. In simple words, rule of law is a legal system that is governed by laws rather than by persons. It imposes legal constraints to the political arbitrariness and overthrows the tyranny or anarchy. Public welfare is the dominant consideration in this system. So, the system provides safeguards for the protection of individuals and know that it also gives the freedom to the judiciary to control the executives who exceed their jurisdiction. Okay, let us see the second concept. On the contrary to the rule of law, rule by law refers to a situation where the legal system is used as a tool by those in power to maintain their authority. In such a system, law may be used selectively to favour those in authority and punishing the other half. And legal measures or mechanisms can be manipulated for political purposes. So, it lacks the emphasis on fairness, justice and equal application which was found in the first principle of rule of law. Let us see some of the characteristics of rule by law. Firstly, the first characteristics is the law may be used as an instrument of control rather than the mechanism of justice. Secondly, there will be selective enforcement of law to target specific groups or individuals. Thirdly, it offers a limited protection of individual rights particularly when they are in conflict with the interest of those who are in power. Finally, there will be a weak or absence of check and balance on the governmental actions. Let us see a case study. For example, during colonial era in India, Britishers used rule by law rather than rule of law. Other examples are Nazi Germany putting juice in the concentration camps and thereafter send them to gas chambers. Thirdly, let us see during the apartheid regime in South Africa. Here, repressive and racially discriminatory laws were used against the black majority and all these discriminations were justified on the basis of the enacted legislations. See, all these examples are the examples of rule by law. See, these are the major differences between the rule of law and rule by law. Remember, independent India follows rule of law. In case of Nandabar the case or Supreme Court ruled that rule of law is the part of basic structure of the constitution. But in Indian system, know that there is a subtle difference between the A V D I C definition and Indian system of rule of law. In Indian system's rule of law, the constitution is not the result of the rights of individual. In contrast, constitution is the source of the individual rights of the citizens. See, this is about the discussion. In this discussion, we saw about two basic concepts of rule of law and rule by law. With these basic points, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article for our analysis. Look at this science page article. It talks about a quest. The quest is to find the material that becomes superconductor at room temperature and pressure. Usually we know that the materials becomes a superconductor either when they are cooled to extremely low temperature or when they are subjected to extremely high pressure. But the material that becomes a superconductor at room temperature or in pressure can be used to make wires that can transport electricity with zero losses. See, this is the crux of the news article given here. In this context, let us quickly go through what is superconductivity. Okay, before having this, let us have a basic understanding. See, what is electric current? A current is nothing but the movement of a charged particles, usually electrons, in a particular directions. When the electrons move, they collide and interact with other atoms in the material, thus creating a resistance. See, this resistance will involve a loss of energy mostly in the form of heat. But know that in superconductors, the electrical resistivity drops to virtually zero. So, superconductivity is nothing but the ability of certain materials to conduct electricity with practically zero resistance. Okay, now let us understand how superconductivity works. See, a conductor serves as a carrier of electrons that move from one atom to another stage when voltage is applied. It conducts electricity with little or zero resistance. When such normally conductive elements and compounds with electromagnetic property are being cooled to very low temperature, they display two important properties of superconductors. Firstly, they present no resistance to electric current. Secondly, they generate magnetic field. This is how a normal conductor is being turned to a superconducting stage. Okay. Actually, we should also remember that the temperature at which the electrical resistivity of a material suddenly drops to zero and the material changes from a normal conductor to a superconductor is called critical temperature or transition temperature. Know that this transition temperature varies from material to material. Now, let us see an important property of superconductor. Imagine when a material is placed inside the magnetic field, then the material's physical conditions are being changed such that it becomes a superconductor. As it transit to a superconducting stage, the material will expel any magnetic field in its bulk to the surface. This expulsion is called Miesner effect. Moreover, this property of a superconductor to exhibit a strong expulsion of magnetic field is called perfect dry magnetism. Remember, this effect can be only observed if the electric current used to produce the magnetic field is a direct current. So, now depending upon how they respond to the magnetic field, we can classify the superconductors into two types. They are nothing but the type 1 superconductor and type 2 superconductor. See, the difference between the two is being given here in the form of image. You can pass the video and go through it. So, because of these unique properties, superconductors have numerous applications in medical diagnostics, computing, power generation, advanced electronic circuits and many other fields. See, this is all the various applications of superconductor. See, in our discussion, we saw about the basic properties of superconductor and in the second part of our discussion, we also saw about the various applications of it. See, this is all about the discussion. With this learned points, let us complete this and take up the next news article for our analysis. Have a look at this news article. The EU or European Union plans to tax products with high carbon emissions, which are entering the European Union. See, it plans to implement the taxes from 2026 through a mechanism called carbon border adjustment mechanism. See, this policy has two phases. With the first phase starting from October 1, 2023, India and EU have been discussing the effects of CBAM and their various trade relations. The Commerce Minister of India criticizes the proposed carbon tax, calling it as a poorly thought out decision. See, this is the crux of the article. In this context, let us understand the mechanism of carbon border adjustment mechanism. Firstly, what is CBAM? In 2021, the European Union proposed the CBAM mechanism. It is a form of carbon tax or duties which are imposed on the import of some products. Know that these duties will be based on the amount of carbon which got emitted during the production of such products. See, CBAM is a part of a fit for 55 in 2030 package of the EU. See, with this package, the EU aims to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 when compared to 1990 levels. See, the CBAM will enter into force in transitional form as of 1 October 2023. Then, the permanent system will enter into force on 1 January 2026. Now, let us see the impacts of CBAM on India. The first and foremost impact is regarding the India's export of metals. Know that in 2022, out of India's total export of metals like iron, steel, aluminum, more than 27% are valued $8.2 billion when to European Union. This shows the importance of EU for our exports. If CBAM got implemented from January 2026, the search shows that more than 50% of Indian exports will come under this proposal. The second major concern is with the carbon intensity of Indian products. See, these were higher than that of the EU and any other part of the world. Let us see the data. See, India's energy mix is predominantly dependent on coal. Study shows that the proportion of coal-fired power in India is close to 75% which is much higher than the EU which accounts for 15% and the global average of 36%. Therefore, direct and indirect emission from iron, steel, aluminum are a major concern for India. This is because higher emissions would translate into higher carbon tariffs which are to be paid to European Union. Thirdly, the major concern is with the risk to the overall export of India. See, in future, if EU expands these policies to other areas of exports like pharmaceuticals, textiles, etc., it will lead to a major loss for Indian exports as India has currently no domestic policy for carbon pricing scheme to deal with this. Moreover, we have to know why European Union is important for Indian trades. See, European Union is India's third largest trading partner. Know that EU accounted for 88 billion euros in goods trade in 2021 or it accounts for 10.8% of total Indian trade. So, such carbon tax like CBAM would decrease the export competitiveness of Indian products. See, these are all of some of the important concerns regarding the CBAM mechanism. See, this is all about the discussion. In this discussion, we saw about the basics of CBAM and in the second part, we saw the impacts of CBAM on Indian exports. This is all about the discussion. Now, let us move on to the next part of our video that is to discuss the preliminary practice questions. See, today we are having four questions. I will solve three of them and one will be a quiz question for you. Let us see the first question. Which of the following is regarded as the main features of the rule of law? See, let us see the statements. Statement 1 tells that the limitations of power. See, as we know from our discussion that limitations of power is one of the important features of the rule of law. So, this is correct. See the second statement, equality before law. See, as we know from our discussion that this also comes under the ambit of rule of law. So, this is also correct. See the third statement, people's responsibility to the government. See, the third statement is incorrect because it is the government that is responsible to the people which comes under the main features of rule of law. So, the third statement is wrong. So, out of three, one is wrong. So, the correct option is option D. See the second question. Consider the following statements. See the first statement. Superconductors exhibit extremely high electrical resistance and loses energy when cooled below a certain critical temperature. See, this statement is entirely wrong because as we know from our discussion that superconductor is a material that exhibits zero electrical resistance and it also results in the expulsion of magnetic fields and it is cooled below a critical temperature. So, the statement one is incorrect. See the second statement. Superconductivity can only typically be achieved at a very cold temperature. See, as we know from our discussion that this is correct. See the third statement. The temperature at which the conductivity of a material become infinite is called a critical temperature. See, this is also correct as we know from our discussion. So, first statement alone is incorrect. So, the correct option is option B. See the third question of the day. Which of the following best to describe the purpose of carbon border adjustment mechanism, CBAM, introduced by the European Union? See, out of the fourth statements, we know CBAM is a carbon leakage mitigation measure by imposing a carbon cost on the various importers. See, this is postulated by the European Union to reduce the carbon emissions. So, the correct option is option B. See displayed here is the quiz question of the day. I will post it in the community section. Interest and aspirants can go and answer this. If you like today's video, like, comment and share it with your friends. For more updates regarding UPSC preparation, subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy. Thank you.