The Hindu Analysis: Judicial Integrity, BRICS, & Cash Transfer Schemes

Hello and welcome to ANA Academy. Welcome to the most comprehensive Hindu analysis on YouTube. So let's start

today's discussion by first looking at the topics that we are going to discuss from the daily edition of the Hindu. I

have chosen 13 important articles. There are 10 articles relevant for both prelims and mains and three articles

relevant only for the prelims exam. However, on the PIB yesterday we didn't have any important article as such. So

we will contain our discussion today to these 13 articles in the Hindu newspaper. But we will ensure it's a

comprehensive discussion so that you don't have to go back and read the newspaper again. But before we start, I

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with this, let's get started and look at the first article. On page number six, we have an important article related to

the topic of judicial integrity. The topic is extremely relevant under Indian polity. So let's understand why

this topic is in news. What is the context? And based on that we will look at the question of integrity within our

higher judiciary in our high courts and supreme court. See recently a big controversy has broken out with regard

to the acting chief justice of the Rajasthan High Court. The current acting chief justice justice Sanjie Prakash

Sharma is facing some serious allegations that have been raised by none other than a sitting Supreme Court

judge. Justice Septa has written multiple letters to Chief Justice of India, Surya Kand alleging

inappropriate conduct and mal administration on the part of the Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, the

acting chief justice Sanjie Prakash Sharma. According to the allegations, the acting chief justice of the

Rajasthan High Court has reportedly shown favoritism, nepotism when it comes to allocating cases when it comes to

appointing for the Lo Kadalats and even with regard to assigning cases to his own bench at the last minute. cases

which have been of highly political nature have been transferred to those benches headed by the acting chief

justice himself and this is not just one allegation raised by one Supreme Court judge. Even the lawyers at the Rajasthan

High Court have gone on a protest which has basically brought additional pressure on the acting chief justice.

Now these are quite serious accusations because the Supreme Court itself has not issued any official denial. Even the

Rajasthan High Court has not issued any official denial with regard to these allegations. Of course the acting chief

justice Sanjiv Prakash Warma he has personally denied that these are baseless allegations. But the very fact

that such charges have been brought up and despite repeated appeals by justice sepa, the chief justice of India has

till now not taken any action and that is where the writer is raising concerns about integrity within Indian judiciary.

Now of course one might argue that mere allegations are not enough to take some concrete action because if you allow

such action to be taken each and every time allegations are brought up then this could even result in interference

in the judiciary. What if charges and allegations are brought up with a malified intent with the wrong

intention? This could hamper the independence of the judiciary as well. But when you look at the nature of the

allegations that have been made when you look at let's say the historical precedent in this regard at least the

CGI could have taken up some steps which the article is actually urging for because see when you look at the Indian

higher judiciary be the appointment process the removal process or investigating such charges

the current existing mechanisms are simply not effective it's simply not adequate and That's why in the past when

such allegations and charges often came up, there have been instances where some action has been taken. For example, in

1990s, there was a very famous case uh involving Justice Vira Swami when serious charges were brought up

including a impeachment proceeding. The then chief justice of India had stopped assigning any cases to the judge in

concern. This was a matter of judicial propriety to show that the judiciary is looking into these allegations and cases

that have been brought up and unless and until they are resolved the concerned judge was not assigned any particular

case in order to repose the faith that public has in the judicial system. But in the current case, no such action has

been initiated. Because see, as the master of roster, the acting chief justice

plays a pivotal role in assigning cases in setting up benches. So when serious allegations have come up from a sitting

judge of the Supreme Court, if lawyers are protesting NMAS, it would require the CJI

as the apex authority of the Indian higher judiciary to at least keep the concerned judge out of legal practice at

least for the time being at least ensure that immediate cases are not assigned. Of course, now the collegium has

recommended a chief justice for the Rajasthan High Court, but the current acting chief justice still has a tenure

to go for a few more weeks till the end of the month. And the article raises a doubt whether the chief justice of India

is trying to push this matter till the acting chief justice eventually steps down and retires after which any charges

brought up would not really hold the same value. So that's why it's important to take a look at

overall integrity that has been maintained by the Indian judiciary. To what extent such allegations have come

up and what do the public feel about the Indian judiciary per se? Uh what do international reports say about the

Indian judiciary and you need to dissect the appointment process. You need to dissect the removal process and when

such charges are brought up, what steps are initiated? That is something we need to understand. Now when you look at

transparency international which is a international non-government organization that tracks global

corruption. According to one of its reports in South Asian countries judiciary was seen as the second most

corrupt institution after the executive. Now this was based on a household survey. It was not based on any

quantifiable parameters. But the fact that the public has no faith in the judiciary in South Asian countries

especially in countries like India is indeed a very concerning development. This might be a old report but the

findings continue to have relevance because judicial independence and judicial confidence it remains valid as

long as the public reposes that faith and trust in the system. So this again shows that in general the Indian public

have been losing faith in the judiciary. The trust is getting eroded just like Indian public have lost their confidence

with the political class and the executive. The same seems to be the trend with the judiciary as well and

that's a very disturbing trend as judiciary constitutes one of the key pillars of the democracy which is vested

with a a pivotal role to reign in the executive and the legislature and act as a system of checks and balances. So when

you look at institutional responsibility there are major structural issues that are present in the higher judiciary and

it all begins with the appointment process itself. When you look at appointment of judges

in India to the higher judiciary such as high courts and supreme court, it is entirely controlled by the collagium

system in collaboration with the executive. There is no specific eligibility

criteria as such there is no transparent system for appointment of judges or selection of judges. And this is unlike

any other democracy. If you look at let's say countries like United Kingdom. In the UK there is a independent

commission independent body for selecting judges and appointing judges. Then in Canada open applications are

invited where the applications are scrutinized. Data is put out publicly and there are accountability mechanisms.

When such charges come up, honest investigations take place in these countries and the concerned judges can

even be removed. But when it comes to India, appointment of judges is a very very opaque process.

Under the collagium system, the Supreme Court collagium maintains total control over the

selection of judges and recommending the names to the executive. And it often leads to a fear that would

it lead to a collusion between the executive and the higher judiciary to appoint a select jud set of judges who

seems to be favorable or agreeable to both the judiciary and the executive. Because quite often when the collegium

recommends certain judges, the executive if it's not pleased with the recommendations, it might try to hold

back the appointment as the eventual appointment happens under the hand of the president. which is of course based

on the recommendations of the aid and advice of the council of ministers. There have been many instances where the

collium recommendations have been stalled and the government has tried to delay the appointments.

So it appears that there seems to be sort of a collusion between the collegium and the government where they

only agree upon certain judges who seem to be acceptable to both the judiciary and the executive and this entire system

remains extremely opaque. It remains outside of public scrutiny and it goes against the very spirit of a democratic

nation. So the lack of transparency here, the lack of accountability in the appointment process remains one of the

key concerns because right at the entry point you have a opaque system which can be vulnerable for for corrupt practices

or a corrupt nexus developing and it is completely outside of any scrutiny or accountability mechanisms.

So that is one of the major challenges the structural flaws present with regard to judicial appointments.

When it comes to investigating such charges and allegations or eventually removing a judge, the constitution does

provide a very high degree of protection. Why? Because as I said, the judiciary needs to maintain its

independence. It should remain free from executive interference or malified charges,

baseless allegations that can't be allowed to interfere with the functioning of the judiciary. The

judiciary should be able to function without fear, without favor. But at the same time there is a need for a

transparent honest accountable mechanism through which charges and serious allegations can be investigated and

judges can be removed. But when you look at the current system it's completely ineffective and inadequate. If you look

at the judges inquiry act 1968 which provides for the removal process as per the provisions of article

217 article 124 of the Indian constitution. Article 124 which deals with the Supreme Court for appointment

and removal. Article 217 which deals with the high courts for appointment and removal.

It essentially allows the parliament to frame a law for the removal process. And the judges inquiry act currently has a

very complex process and currently if you look at the track record of impeachment.

No single judge in the higher judiciary has ever been impeached despite some serious charges and allegations coming

up. Take for example the recent incident involving Justice Yashwant Darma in his Delhi residence. Bundles and bundles of

burnt cash was recovered following a fire incident and following which a impeachment port motion was moved to the

parliament. But as you can see the judge concerned judge has not been removed and this has been the case with many other

previous impeachment motions as well. Now when you look at the judges inquiry act and the procedure provided under it

to even consider such a motion in the parliament you would require the signature of at least 100 MPs in the Lok

Sabha and if it is moved in the Rajya Sabha at least signatures of 50 MPs would be required it can be moved in

either of the houses once it is accepted once the motion is accepted with the minimum signatures a

three member committee is constituted to investigate the charges now as per the Indian constitution ution a judge can be

removed only on two grounds. One is proven misbehavior which includes corrupt practices

and the second ground is incapacity could be health related in incapacity or

mental health related incapacity. Only on these two grounds a judge in the high judiciary can be removed. Now following

the investigation the report is tabled in the parliament and it's put for voting. Now it requires a special

majority in both the houses. First in the house where the motion was introduced and if special majority is

obtained it passes to the next house where again special majority is required. That is majority of total

membership of the house and not less than 2/3 of the members present and voting which is a very difficult

majority to achieve which means it requires political consensus with regard to the treasury benches and the

opposition coming together to impeach or remove a judge. Now after this motion has been passed with required special

majority then the president can essentially order the removal of the concerned judge. But as I said the

process is extremely complicated and till date none of the judges against whom such serious charges have come up

have ever been impeached. See the constitution does provide for removal though it explicitly doesn't use

the term impeachment. It does provide for removal of the judge and the parliament accordingly has enacted the

judges inquiry act based on which this procedure has been set up. But if you look at the past experience, it has

often been seen that parties often come together to protect certain judges against whom serious charges and cases

have been brought up. Now see in 1991 with regard to justice Viras Swami case the Supreme Court had made it clear that

to even register an FIR against a sitting judge the police would require the prior approval prior permission of

the Chief Justice of India. This again is a a precautionary measure to prevent frivolous cases and baseless

allegations. But most experts agree that the police would never dare go to the Chief Justice of India asking for

permission to file a case against a sitting judge. That has been a reality in the judiciary. Now when you look at

other attempts that were made to introduce some transparency and accountability in the system in 2012

under the then UPA government the judicial standards and accountability bill was pushed in the parliament but it

eventually passed uh it it lapsed in the parliament by 2014 because of the change in government. Again fresh attempts have

been made to revive this bill but it is of to no away. So when it comes to judicial standards and accountability,

there is no set legal mechanism. Then later on the NJAC which was pushed by the Modi government, the national

judicial appointments commission through constitutional amendment to provide for a more accountable transparent criteria

based system for appointment of judges. This was ruled as unconstitutional by the constitution bench of the Supreme

Court. So you can see how the conflict of interest when it comes to appointment

and removal has played out and how the judiciary has often you know put itself in a silo isolated itself from any form

of transparency and accountability and the more this continues it continues to erode the trust that the public places

in the judiciary because when public interact with let's say lower courts they're often

experience they quite often experience a delayed process. They often get this impression that the judiciary somewhere

is compromised or it is not effective enough to handle these cases and upon that when these cases come up and barely

any action is initiated by the concerned authorities including the chief justice of India. It further reinforces that

belief reinforces that that sentiment that the judiciary is also corrupt as corrupt probably as the political class

and that erosion of faith is probably the most serious threat for a democracy. So this is where judicial statemanship

has to be displayed. Now when it comes to the case of justice V Ramas Swami, the concerned judge was kept away from

all cases and matters by the then chief justice of India Sabi Sabyasachi Mukharji. He asked the concerned judge

Vira Swami to take leave and stay away from any judicial work until the allegations were resolved. Though the

impeachment motion came up, of course the impeachment motion was not passed but despite that at least the chief

justice of India displayed statementship back then by keeping away the concerned judge from judicial work. Now when you

look at what happened after the impeachment motion actually failed. The next chief justice of India Wena

Challaya refused to allocate any cases to the concerned judge which again displace statesmanship on the part of

the CGI. So there have been such historical precedents.

Now if you take the case of Justice Yashunt Warha as part of the ongoing impeachment

proceedings, he was immediately transferred to the Alabad High Court and currently no cases

has been assigned kept away from judicial work which essentially allows at least some form of accountability.

Even if the charges may never be proven, even if the judge may never be removed or impeached, at least keeping the

concerned judge away from judicial work sends out a strong message. But in the current case, none of this action has

been taken up by the CGI, despite repeated letters by the Supreme Court judge Septa despite protests by lawyers

at the Rajasthan High Court. And that is a serious concern being expressed in this column with regard to the lack of

judicial integrity and accountability. Now based on what we have discussed, please take up this prelims practice

question. Consider the following statements with regard to removal of a judge from the higher judiciary. The

constitution explicitly mentions the term impeachment. Judges can only be removed for proved misbehavior and

incapacity. Which of the above given statements is or are correct? We've already discussed the same topic. So

please provide me the correct answer in the comments. Let's see how many of you can answer this. Next, a mains question

based on the same topic. Recurring allegations against judges in the higher judiciary raise serious questions about

judicial accountability in India. Critically examined. Now, if such a question were to be asked, right, it's

better that you don't immediately name any concerned judges, especially current sitting judges, because that might give

away a certain bias or since they all remain unproven allegations, it might put you in a spot. So instead refer to

established historical precedents like the Viras Swami case or talk about the procedures involved in appointment in

inquiry and with regard to removal. So talk about the constitutional provisions article 124 article 217 and 218 talk

about the judges inquiry act uh talk about the NJAC right compare it with other models like UK, US, Canada. So

that would be a better argument instead of making personal references or naming uh certain judges because the

allegations which currently have come up be it against Yeshuan or against the acting chief justice of Rajasthan High

Court they all remain unproven right so instead of taking names it's better that you refer to the incidents in a

anonymous manner and then detail why it is important to deal with these charges effectively

Why it's important to have a certain criteria transparent process to appoint judges? Why it's required to have a more

effective and adequate method of removal of judges carrying out inquiries against judges. So you need to stress on the

role of judicial independence in a democracy and the need for judicial integrity in a democracy. These are two

important values that you need to highlight. Now let's move to the next article. On the same page, we have a

column written by the Chinese ambassador to India as India is all set to host the 2026

brick summit. The Chinese ambassador has written this column in today's the Hindu that gives

us a insight into Chinese thinking what China thinks of bricks, right? It also helps us understand the growing profile

of bricks as a major grouping. So let's dive deep into this topic. So first a quick background especially for

beginners. If you have some if you're someone who has just started preparing for the exams maybe you would have heard

of bricks but maybe you're not aware of the entire background. Just for those students a quick background and then we

will talk about the focus of this particular article. See, bricks emerged as a idea in the

early 2000s when a Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neal

proposed the idea of emerging economies working together. He proposed the acronym brick in the

early 2000s when he was working at Goldman Sachs. So brick referred to the four major emerging economies of that

period. Brazil, Russia, India and China. This eventually was given a formal shape in 2006 when the bricks foreign

ministers met in New York on the sidelines of the UNGA summit. The foreign ministers of brick nations met

for the first time giving it a formal shape and structure. These countries had one common concern. Their common

complaint was against the western dominance of global financial architecture.

Their main concern was how institutions like World Bank and IMF were largely dominated and controlled by United

States and European Union. Whereas emerging economies like Brazil, China, India were never given equal say, equal

rights, equal decision-making powers. And that is what brought these nations together. Then of course came the

2007208 subrime uh crisis and the global recession for which western countries their regulators and their financial

institutions were largely held responsible and it led to the formal establishment of the brick summit in

2009 at Yakatarinberg in Russia. Russia hosted the first ever brick summit at Yakatarinburg and only four member

countries were present at that point. Brazil, Russia, India and China. The next year in 2010, South Africa was

invited and by 2011 South Africa joined the group and thus it became the bricks

a grouping of five emerging economies and over the years it has undertaken some important initiatives big

initiatives followed by a major expansion that took place recently in 2024.

Some of the big initiatives of the BRICS group is the establishment of the NDB, the new development bank which acts as a

counter to the World Bank. If World Bank provides aid and assistance and concessional loans for developmental

projects. Similarly, NDB provides concessional loans, aid and assistance focused on development, infrastructure

and uh soioeconomic programs and it has accepted members beyond the BRIRC nations as well and the BRIRC countries

have equal share equal voting powers. The five BRICS countries have contributed equally and they all

hold a 20% share with the same voting rights. They have also established the contingent reserve arrangement as a

counter to the IMF just like IMF provides emergency bailout to countries facing a liquidity

challenge. Similarly, the CRA of BRICS provides liquidity support. Then BRICS nations today have diversified. They're

no longer restricted to creating alternate financial architecture. They deal with global geopolitical issues.

They are focused on improving uh their cultural ties, scientific relations. Uh they focus on disaster management,

counterterrorism. Uh and they've essentially expanded into every possible domain. Right? Uh BRICS nations have

even considered setting up a submarine cable to ensure that their internet

infrastructure is secure from any western interference. They've even set up a BRICS credit rating agency

to counter the dominance of western credit rating agencies. So these have been some of the big

initiatives of the group and in 2024 five new countries have joined. Right. Today the bricks includes

Iran as a full-time member, United Arab Emirates, Egypt,

Ethiopia and Indonesia as well which joined in early 2025.

Two more countries were invited, Saudi Arabia and Argentina. However, Argentina refused to join

bricks because of the change in government and the emergence of the new Argentinian right-wing leader Javier

Mille who seen as close to Donald Trump. He refused to join the group and rejected the membership. Saudi Arabia

though officially listed as a member. If you look at the official bricks website, just take a look here. The official

bricks website states there are 11 member countries. The four original members then South

Africa, right? Five nations plus the ones which were newly added, Iran, UAE, Egypt and Ethiopia and later Indonesia.

And even Saudi Arabia is listed as one of the members. But according to most reports, Saudi Arabia is still sitting

on the fence. It is yet to complete the formal joining process because BRICS has often emerged as an anti-West group.

BRICS nations have even promoted the concept of ddollarization to reduce their dependency on the US dollar and to

promote trade in national currencies. They have tried to move away from western controlled systems such as the

swift payment gateway. Right? because some of the bricks members are sanctioned by western countries

especially the US and European countries currently have active sanctions against countries like Russia, China and Iran.

So given the anti-West tilt of BRICS nations, Saudi Arabia is yet to take a call and it's said to be indecisive in

this regard. Though BRICS countries treat Saudi Arabia as a formal member, it is yet to formally complete the

process. So it's basically sitting on the fence and still deciding whether to join the group or not.

Now this group has a lot of prominence in today's global economy. It accounts for nearly half of the global

population. It also accounts for nearly 30 to 40% of global output. It accounts for 26 to 30% of global trade. And in

the last couple of years it has gone through a significant expansion. China calls this the greater bricks.

Now that bricks has expanded to 10 to 11 members right if you include Saudi Arabia it

would be 11 or else 10 members. So BRICS nations have added partner countries.

These countries that you can see here in the list, they've all joined bricks as partner nations and some of them are

seeking formal membership going forward. Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, and

Vietnam. But what really stands out is that most countries here are either aligned with Russia or with China.

So the further expansion of bricks which is a proposed agenda with the inclusion of more new member countries is what

could further enhance the profile of the group as it can become one of the most leading platforms with regard to global

economic and geopolitical cooperation. Now China considers this as a critical platform to counter the United States

to counter the west in general and to further Chinese dominance. So the Chinese ambassador in this

article talks about the power of bricks. He says this is an acronym. He says these are the five

priority areas for China with regard to the bricks organization. The P here stands for principle. The

Chinese ambassador argues that BRICS nations are primarily from the global south comprising of emerging economies

and they're spread across the world from South America to West Asia and Africa to South Asia and even the Eurasia region

and its membership and the inclusion of partner countries the list continues to grow

right making it a more prominent organization. So, China believes that this is a group which can uphold

international principles, principles like the UN charter, calling for nonviolation of uh the sovereignty of

other nations. Uh it essentially takes a stand against the US war against Iran, the Israeli aggression against Iran and

across the West Asia region. But what's really ironic and even hypocritical is that Russia, China themselves violate

these principles again and again. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, right? Chinese aggression against India or

Chinese aggression in South China Sea goes against the very same principle. It again shows how big powers are often

hypocritical, right? When it comes to their own interests. But China believes that this is a platform through which

international principles can be upheld. Meaning China sees this as a platform to exercise a certain pressure on the west

and to contain the west. Then O in power according to China stands for openness. China wants global trade to be more open

to be driven by free market. This is a direct stand against the tariff wars of United States.

It's a direct stand against the sanctions of the west. So, China is urging the BRICS members to work

together to align the group with WTO norms to treat WTO principles as sacrosan and

promote a fair equitable trading mechanism and protect the MFN status or most favored nation status that

countries are obligated to provide to each other under WTO norms which prevents any unfair treatment to to

other trading partners which ensures that a country provides equitable favorable treatment as per the

international trading mechanism set up under the WTO. So China sees bricks as a platform to secure greater control over

global supply chains and ensure that China's dominating role continues because through bricks platform China

can further step up its political and diplomatic and economic influence and China understands this very well. So it

sees the platform as a key economic platform to drive China's exports and trade, Chinese investments and also

ensure that China maintains a a dominating role across Latin America and Africa and Asia region. See, China has

proposed three parallel initiatives. China has proposed the global

security initiative, the global governance initiative and it has also proposed the global

civilizational initiative. Now these are China initiatives to shape a new world order. It's bringing the

developing underdeveloped countries together under the security framework, global governance framework as a

parallel to the UN and a global civilizational framework to project its soft power and promote its cultural

influence. These are pet projects of Chinese premier Zian. So, China believes that

under the power acronym, the W here stands for win-win. China seeks to push mutually beneficial initiatives and this

honestly aligns with India's goals as well right bricks can be a great platform to push for socioeconomic

cooperation between the nations of the global south it can actually become a true symbol of the global south nations

and empower them and bring better coordination and cooperation between them because when you look at

institutions like NDB and CRA they have been providing concessional loans and assistance to various other member

countries where development projects are being driven through the BRICS platform. Then

trade using their national currency will save precious foreign exchange. It will essentially speed up crossber financial

transactions. It could bring enormous benefits uh to the BRICS countries trading in their own currencies. So

India does share the same objectives even when it comes to upholding UN principles or WTO principles. or

protecting the free trade mechanisms, India has the same stand and that's why despite the conflicting issues we have

with China and other members, we continue to treat GRICS as a critical platform. It aligns with India's

interests as well. Now when you look at China's proposal of the power acronym, the E in power stands for engine. China

considers bricks as a powerhouse for the global economy which is true to a large extent. According to the IMF, the

greater brick bricks is slated to grow at three times the speed of the G7 countries.

If you take the G7 developed industrialized nations, compare their growth with greater BRICS nations, the

greater BRICS nations are expected to grow three times faster by 2028. And this is a clear sign of the power shift

which is happening from the west towards the east. And that is what China recognizes and a platform like bricks

would further drive China's leadership role. So though India has a issue with this, we still consider the bricks to be

a critical platform. No wonder we are hosting the summit because this gives India an opportunity to again champion

the voice of the global south. This group has great economic, geopolitical and as well as diplomatic

relevance for India. Though we often face criticism from the G7 and the western countries as to why

India is working with the BRICS group which includes authoritarian governments like Iran, UAE, Russia, China right

despite that India continues to engage with the group because this is India's pragmatic foreign policy right it is an

example of our multi-aligned foreign policy where we work with the G7 and the west parallelly we'll work with the

bricks and the SEO as well. So for China and Russia, both SEO and bricks are key platforms to counter the west.

They're shaping SEO and as well as bricks as anti-West platforms. This is what India resists. India tries to

resist the transformation of bricks and SEO into an anti-west platform because there are important economic

geopolitical objectives that can be achieved through these organizations and th those are the interests that

India pursues under the bricks platform even under the SEO grouping. Now as India is hosting bricks summit this year

there are some key agendas on the table. There will be discussions on the West Asia war. There will be discussions on

the current status of the global economy. There will be discussion on climate change uh and as well as intra

bricks currency cooperation and these are important agendas for India. So now India holds the chair position and we

get to drive the discussions and eventually arrive at a consensus. But what is interesting is that the

chair position will next rotate from India to China. Next year, China will be holding the chair and China will be

hosting the summit. And this potentially creates an opportunity for a rare India China collaboration. Now that India

China ties are improving. Even the Chinese ambassador recognizes that. He says that over the last couple of years,

India China ties have really improved. Uh the border standoff at Ladak has come to an end following the Kazan brick

summit. Both sides have deescalated, disengaged from their military standoff. Today direct flights have resumed,

border trade has been resumed, cultural ties have kicked off, border talks are taking place and Chinese president

Zhinping is expected to arrive in India for the brick summit which is going to be a historic event because it has been

a long time since Zhinping came to India. The last visit was in 2019 for the Malapuram summit and after that the

Lada crisis broke out and since then the Chinese president has never arrived in India. So this holds a lot of symbolic

value for the India China relations as well. So bricks can become that bridge between India and China potentially and

that is where the relevance lies with regard to this grouping. So let's wait for the summit to begin. We will bring

out some dedicated videos on the agenda of the brick summit and what India seeks to achieve and we will carry out a

detailed analysis of the eventual outcomes. In the meanwhile, please take up this mains practice question and

practice your answer writing based on what we have discussed. So this is your prelims question from the bricks group.

Which among the following is associated with bricks quad, NDB, RC or I2U2? Fairly simple question. Let's see if you

can let me know the answer in the comment section. Next, a few articles that require a quick uh update. On the

front page, there's an article referring to the ongoing border level talks between India and China.

Currently in the eastern sector that is in Arunachal Pradesh where China does not recognize the Mechmoon line and

refers to Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet. India China have a major dispute which is actively present and recently

tensions have been increasing in the taxing area where the Chinese PLA they have made few advances which are being

challenged by the Indian army. Now this comes at a very sensitive time because as I said India is hosting the brick

summit on September 12th and 13th. Chinese President Zhinping is arriving in India based on the premise that India

China relations have improved. India is working on that premise that China is now approaching India with a different

viewpoint. The China will no longer get unnecessarily hostile as we saw in Ladak. Right? So around the same time we

are seeing a disturbing development in the eastern sector. So India has activated the boundary level talks at

the military commanders level and the Indian army 3 core which is based out of Ranga Pahar in Nagaland which has

jurisdiction over the eastern sector in Arunachal Pradesh has held direct boundary talks with the PLA

counterparts. Now please note the location of this border meeting point. This can be important for prelims. The

Vatcha Dami border personnel meeting point. This is one of the pre-aggreed points along the border. See, as of now,

all talks with regard to the boundary issues are concentrated in the western sector in Ladak. The talks are held at

the Chushul Moldo border meeting point which is located in eastern Ladak. So since the Galwan river valley clashes

and until we resolved the Ladak standoff, the talks between the two militaries was taking place primarily in

eastern eastern Ladak at the Chushul Moldo border meeting point. Now in the Tak Singh region following the recent

tensions which are rising, India has sought a fresh meeting and these boundary talks have begun and you need

to know the cores of the Indian army which lead these talks as well. See generally we don't focus on these facts

but if you have seen this your prelims there was a question on army course I know it's too difficult and impossible

to study and remember such facts because that's not what you expect from UPSC but you never know if it's already mentioned

in newspapers then why not pick it up right so the three core of the Indian army which is headquartered in Nagaland

at Rangapah it has a jurisdiction over this stretch of the uh India China border covering the Macmahon line then

you also have theur based four core in Assam which also exercises jurisdiction in the eastern sector along

the India China border. So just make a note when it comes to the eastern sector of India China border it is the three

and four core of Indian army four core based in tpur in Assam three core based in Rangpahar in Nagaland so these fresh

talks have begun to ensure that any unnecessary escalation doesn't happen before Zinping's visit to India because

India wants the summit to go smoothly peacefully and even China would be expecting the summit to go without an

incident so it's important to address this escalation immediately prevent any miscalculation and further escalations

which could basically derail the India China relations. Next, in a related development, India

has made it very clear to the United Nations that the newly adopted resolution

on the world map should reflect India's official position with regard to Jammu, Kashmir and Ladak.

As you know couple of days ago the UNGA adopted a resolution to depict the correct realities of our

geography on the world map because see traditionally we have seen the marcata

projection which often shrinks the countries and the continental land mass near the equator.

Whereas countries and the land mass present towards the poles gets expanded

significantly. That's why Greenland or even Canada. They appear much much larger than they

actually are compared to let's say Africa. You know Africa is many times larger than Greenland. But when you look

at the current Marcato map projection, Africa looks almost the same as Greenland. Now this perception on a map

eventually influences the narrative. It influences the way a region or a country is perceived. One reason why Africa is

often seen as a a weaker uh underdeveloped region is also because of the perception which has been built in.

Yes, the ground realities in Africa indicates that Africa is suffering from conflicts, poverty, backwardness. That's

true and uh the history of colonial exploitation. But what is projected on a map will influence your visualization of

a country or a region. So African countries have been fighting against this from a long time to ensure that

correct depiction is done on the world map. They want the matter map projection to be done away with and a new mapping

projection to be adopted which actually depicts the countries and land mass at actual scale so that Africa can be truly

represented according to its size and other landmass and countries near the pole that is in the towards the Arctic

uh could be shrunk so that other nations towards the equator could be actually depicted on their proper scale. So in

this regard UNG has adopted a resolution which was supported by almost every country except for United States. The US

was the only one which has rejected this resolution. India has supported the resolution.

Right? India has always supported the stand in favor of African nations and it's also a rejection of the colonial uh

interpretation the colonial ctography that has often been used. Right? This has been made mainstream since colonial

imperial times and uh that is what African countries are rejecting. So India stands with that. It it

essentially is a type of uh anti-colonial anti-imperial approach. So we fully support the initiative of the

UN to adopt a new mapping projection a new ctography and reject the mercato projection. But however in the process

of bringing out a new map, India has made it very very clear that India's territorial claims will have to be

properly depicted. Given that JNK and Ladak are illegally occupied part of it, Pakistan illegally

occupies a part of JNK including Gilgit Baltistan. China illegally occupies a part of Ladak that is Axai Chin region.

So India has made it very clear to the UN that any new map which could be brought out by the UN should depict the

official map of India as claimed by India. Next a very important column with regard

to economy and even social justice. It focuses on unconditional cash transfer schemes which are often run by state

governments. See in many states in Tamil Nadu, in Maharashtra, in Karnataka,

in uh Rajasthan, in Madhya Pradesh as well, right? Even in West Bengal, there are massive cash transfer schemes that

are often announced by the ruling party right before the elections. It's often done with the intention to appeal to

their main vote banks to try and influence the voters. And this article here examines the political cost of

unconditional cash transfer schemes. Now in some states even after the ruling parties had launched these unconditional

cash transfers focused primarily on women to attract women voters many of them actually lost the elections and

that's the irony behind it. Take for example the Guru Lakshmi Yojan of Karnataka or the Lakshmi Bandar scheme

in West Bengal or the Kalagnar mugalier scheme in Tamil Nadu and how these schemes have backfired on the then

ruling parties despite trying to appeal to the women voters they often ended up losing the elections. This highlights

not just the economic irrationality of unconditional cash transfer schemes. It also highlights the political cost that

parties often have to pay. See, according to the economic survey brought out by the finance ministry, state

governments are spending almost $18 billion in the 202526 fiscal on these populist

schemes. Critics often call them as freebies. Prime Minister Modi himself called it

the raved culture. But all parties are guilty of promoting and implementing such populist schemes. Right? Every

single party at the state level has run such populist schemes. You saw that in Bihar. You saw that in Odisa as well.

Right? And they make this lastm minute attempt like a lastditch effort right before elections. Right before the model

code kicks into effect. They announced these attractive cash transfer schemes without any conditions targeting at one

entire group of electorate targeting women for example targeting a certain class of people. Now these schemes which

are highly criticized by experts is because it results in wasteful expenditure right. It results in a big

increase in the fiscal deficit of the state right or it might result in diversion of funds from otherwise funds

which could have been used for actual developmental work where long-term capital could have been invested to

create long-term assets. Instead of that, these governments and political parties

are often chasing short-term gains, right? They diverted towards uh let's say free electricity or loan wave offs

or they provide free transport or direct cash benefits where cash is directly deposited into the bank accounts of the

intended beneficiaries. Now, it's not only a resource diversion and very expensive. It increases the fiscal

deficit and impacts the macroeconomic stability of the state's economy. Now the biggest concern here is not just the

irrationality of this program. It's about the challenge in targeting the program.

There is a possibility that in unconditional cash transfer schemes you may not provide the benefits to the

intended beneficiaries. There could be lot of unfair exclusions and unfair inclusions

because when there is no effort to identify the intended beneficiary and surgically target this to towards the

beneficiary it could result in exclusion of genuine beneficiaries just because they didn't have the documentation just

because they didn't meet the eligibility criteria and similarly it could result in unfair exclusions just like

inclusions right those who are not eligible they might get uh included they draw the benefits and this creates

political discontent. Let's say cash transfer given to women. Maybe a set of women are getting the

cash deposited in their account. Maybe some of them are not even eligible. Maybe they come from good households.

they may not meet the actual criterias because see when when it comes to identifying the targets since Indian

economy is largely informal and income cannot be the sole criteria. Governments rely on data related to land ownership

uh house and uh ownership of other assets to determine the the targeted beneficiaries in the crowd. Generally

what happens those beneficiaries who are actually well off when they draw the benefits and if let's say someone from

the down to section who are actually eligible otherwise may not be able to uh get the cash transfer because of the

lack of documentation or because they got excluded due to official mistakes that were made. This creates a

discontent amongst the voters. They get angry that few women have received the cash while others haven't. Right? So

there are official bureaucratic mistakes which can be made by implementing such a program or because of the criterias

which are ident identified. Some could be unfairly included. Some could be unfairly excluded and the very flaw

which is inherent in these schemes result in political discontent amongst the targeted beneficiaries.

So the parties which set out to impress a set of voters like women voters. they will end up angering them, displeasing

them and that is the one of the reasons why some of the parties which sponsors such schemes have often lost the

elections as well. Now you can't deny the fact that any cash transfer scheme can actually bring about some level of

development. It can at least partially help in achieving soioeconomic development. But instead of

unconditional cash transfer, conditional trans cash transfer is anyway much better. If you have a specific criteria,

if you link the cash transfer to certain outcomes, you will not only achieve better

development progress and indicators, you will ensure that the right beneficiaries can be provided with the benefits. Now

take for example a scheme like midday meal scheme. It's applicable for all schoolgoing children, right? The

condition here to get that benefit is that the children should be attending the school. So this has a better

outcome. It actually helps you drive your progress towards sustainable development goals. Similarly,

conditional cash transfer schemes for pregnant women for improving institutional delivery for tackling

metal mortality rate and infant mortality rate. They have better outcomes. It improves the health

outcomes. Why? Because it is linked to these key outcomes. There is a incentive based model

where the beneficiaries will get the advantage or the benefits of the cash transfer scheme only if they fulfill the

criteria and the conditions and this actually drives your targeted beneficiary population towards achieving

the desired targets. So that's why the article here takes a stand in favor of conditional cash transfer schemes over

unconditional cash transfer schemes. Unconditional cash transfer schemes can also drive partial developmental

objectives but it is never effective. It's often a waste of the state revenue. It results in diversion of precious uh

revenue of the state excheer. It increases the fiscal deficit. It often becomes unproductive. It doesn't create

any long-lasting assets or long-lasting outcomes. So instead of these populist freebies, it's any day better to promote

conditional cash transfers which are linked to outcomes which is a incentivedriven model. And here

targeting can be much better to avoid the errors of inclusion and exclusion because the criterias can be very

clearly spelt out and you can better target the intended beneficiaries. Next, a quick update with regard to AI

regulation. See, when it comes to artificial intelligence, you need to keep track of

what's happening with regard to governance and regulation of AI technologies. Australia is becoming one

of the first countries in the world to impose a ban on completely AI generated music.

The Australian Industry Association of the Recording Industry,

it's a industry level association. The ARA Australian Recording Industry Association has called for a complete

ban on songs and music and artwork which was completely generated with AI algorithms.

Whereas music that was generated by human creators

with the help of AI will now have to be mandatorily labeled by the streaming platforms be it Apple

Music, Spotify. Right now they are being mandated to clearly label AI generated music

where partial human involvement is there where AI was just used as a enabler device or a tool but a song which is

completely generated with AI which is completely synthetic with almost zero human involvement such music is being

banned from streaming platforms. Now this could set the trend when it comes to regulation of AI artwork

because see there is a global debate going on when it comes to paintings or novels and poems or with regard to even

music or let's say even movies for that matter. So when it comes to human generated creativity, right, there's a

need to protect copyright, ensure intellectual property is upheld and that is very crucial to protect

creativity and innovation and protect the monetary interests of the creators. But today what AI algorithms can do

right how realistically they can generate let's say a visual clip or a song or let's say a essay or a novel is

something that requires greater deliberation by governments and legislative bodies across the world and

even by the AI industry and as well as the concerned sectors. Now for example when you look at the

news industry the news industry is already up in arms against the AI LLM because AI LLM are being trained on vast

troves of data which is largely scraped from every news channel and news website and uh these platforms media outlets are

not getting compensated right for that and eventually AI gets an upper hand when you look at Google search for

example right the moment you search for any topic you have a AI I summary which is provided at the top which actually

prevents you from opening the actual website from where the data was drawn from. Right? This could affect the ad

revenue and the number of website hits that the media outlets were getting because they were the ones who are

generating the media reports and generating the content. But AI companies are reaping the benefits of that. So

there are a lot of monetary issues, legal issues, uh and as well as ethical issues involved when it comes to AI

artwork from paintings to music to movies to even uh let's say literary work. So as of now European

countries uh particularly European Union and even Australia, they have taken the lead when it comes to protecting uh

human creativity and limiting the role of AI in let's say in any kind of art work. So one of the first major steps is

the current ban that Australia is considering on songs and music which is completely AI generated. It will not be

available for streaming. It will not be listed per se and music generated by music producers, artists or human

creators using AI with the help of AI. This will have to be very very explicitly labeled by the streaming

platforms. So probably this could hold a lesson for India as well as even India consider is considering as to how to

deal with regulating AI when it comes to artwork. Next on page 10, a very bizarre and very interesting development. The

tribal affairs ministry has informed the ministry of power that when it comes to forest rights act

there is no mention that consent of 100% gram sabas has to be obtained to get a forest clearance

issued for public infrastructure projects. See, when it comes to forest land

which could be inhabited by indigenous tribal communities, forest dwelling tribes, their rights are protected

through this important piece of legislation, the forest rights act of 2006.

The scheduleled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers recognition of forest rights act 2006.

It recognizes a basic set of rights. It recognizes the rights of these indigenous communities to dwell and

reside in the forest areas. It gives them title rights, land ownership rights. It recognizes their uh community

rights and their economic rights as well. They can continue to collect minor forest produce and uh they can conserve

the forest area as a community, right? And it is generally seen as a mandatory requirement before any large public

infrastructure project is pushed in forest land to obtain a forest clearance with 100% consent given by all the

involved gram sabas. This is the general understanding of the law and the regulations that are in place. Now the

national hydroelectric power corporation which is pursuing important projects like theista hydroelectric project it

has been facing substantial delays in getting 100% consent of gram sabas. So the matter was taken up by the ministry

of power. It approached the tribal affairs ministry asking whether mandatory consent of 100% gram sabas is

required and what the tribal affairs ministry can do. This matter was even taken up by the parliamentary committee

on tribal affairs. The parliamentary committee also

suggested that expecting 100% consent from all gram sabas could result in unexpected delays to a project.

Currently the average time taken is around 106 months to get forest clearance for big infrastructure

projects. Right? because it requires 100% consent of all the gram sabas concerned. So the

parliamentary committee had recently recommended that consent of 70 to 75% gram sabas should be treated as enough

to move ahead with projects or else it'll end up delaying critical projects. So we saw the recent controversy

erupting with regard to uh the great nicobar project as well. So now the tribal affairs ministry has given a very

bizarre answer to the ministry of power. It has said that it is not at all responsible for this. It has said the

FRA has no explicit mention that Graham Sabha's consent has to be obtained. While it is true in some way, the tribal

affairs ministry cannot wash away its hands from the responsibility because see when you look at the FRA, the forest

rights act, correct? There is no explicit mention that Graham Sabha's consent is required for a forest

clearance. This is correct. But the law states very clearly when it comes to implementation of the law. Tribal

affairs ministry is completely responsible. It holds the nodal responsibility the

primary responsibility to implement the forest rights act. Now when you look at the regulations notified by the central

government under the regulations consent of gram sabha under the forest conservation act is mandatory.

Right? States and district administration they try to work with the gram sabas to obtain the consent to

obtain a nooc a no objection certi certificate has to be given this is what is often interpreted as consent of gram

sabas so tribal affairs ministry correct it doesn't go around getting consent from gram sabas for every project it's

not the job of the tribal affairs ministry but implementing the law overall is the primary responsibility of

the tribal affairs ministry it works with state governments and district authorities to get the NOOCC for a

project the no objection certificate if a project has to go through this is what often is interpreted as

consent of Gram Sabas so now the tribal affairs ministry says that we are not at all responsible this matter doesn't even

come under us this seems to be a very bizarre reply because though the law doesn't state it explicitly it is a

legal requirement as per the law as per the regulations that consent of gram sabaz is required it is 100% required

from all the concerned gram sabas to give the forest clearance for a large infrastructure project. Next, the

diminishing role of ISRO has generated lot of concern and controversy. lot of ISRO scientists and

employees have written uh to the concerned higher authorities asking for clarification whether ISRO will reduce

the recruitment because recently senior officials within ISRO have made statements in the public that ISRO would

be outsourcing a large part of its work. The statement came from the chairman of inspace which is mainly pushing for

commercialization of India's uh space technology and space sector. Now the chairman Pawan Kumar Goinka has

clarified that his statement has been misinterpreted and taken out of context. See in 2020

ISRO pushed for major reforms. The government of India department of space pushed for major reforms. one by

establishing NSIL, New Space India Limited and Inspace. Both the institutions were set up

backtoback in a span of hardly few months between 2018 to 2020 period. Their goal is to drive greater

commercial participation in private sector, promote commercial opportunities for ISRO. And right now, our space

startup sector is booming with the sector already reaching a value of $8.4 billion.

We have seen India's first space companies developing launch vehicles, launching satellites into orbit,

deploying a a constellation of earth observation satellites and communication satellites. This industry is expected to

grow to $44 billion by 2033 representing a massive opportunity for India. So what ISRO is planning to do

with the department of space, it is looking to outsource some of the key functions which

otherwise were handled by ISRO. For example, manufacturing the rockets or the launch vehicles,

then manufacturing of few satellites and its components. In fact, from many years, private

industries have always participated in manufacturing spare parts and components for our launch vehicles like PSLV, GSLV

or several satellites as well. There has been private sector participation. Now, ISRO is looking to completely

get the private sector involved in these areas and that is what raises the concern

whether ISRO's role is being diminished. Some are even criticizing the government for looking to privatize ISRO. Lot of

misinformation is also spreading. A lot of influencers are making videos about this development stating that ISRO will

you know probably cease to function. So this has generated a lot of unnecessary paranoia and that's what the chairman of

inspace has clarified. ISRO yes will get the private sector more involved. That is the job of inspace and NSIL. They

will create a bigger role for the Indian private space startups. Why? This essentially will free ISRO

from routine work. Building rockets, launching satellites. This something which ISRO has already

pioneered. The standards ground rules have already been established. Now if the technology is transferred to the

private sector, they can take over these roles for launching scheduled payloads into orbit. That is something ISRO

should not be burdened with going forward. To become a leading global space agency to compete with the likes

of NASA or space agencies of Japan and China, ISRO will have to focus more on R&D. It will have to focus on deep space

exploration missions where the private sector has absolutely no expertise. Those should become the frontier areas

for ISRO. It will have to concentrate its capital and manpower on upcoming mega projects like Gaganyan mission or

the planned lunar manned mission to the moon by 2040. India plans to place an astronaut on the moon by 2040 or the

baria antri station through which India plans to set up its own international space station. These are cutting edge

projects, frontier projects for ISRO and ISRO will essentially graduate into these mature deep space programs.

Whereas routine development of rockets, manufacturing of satellites, components, launching them, managing them can be

easily outsourced to the private sector doesn't mean ISRO's role will reduce. ISRO will graduate mature to the next

level focusing on high-end research focusing on deep space exploration and ISRO will always remain the lead agency

of India's space sector which will work in close coordination with the private sector.

A national space agency alone cannot drive the space industry. If we have to tap the full potential of the space

market, it's a multi-billion dollar market, right? If India can become a viable commercial partner in the space

domain for global vendors then ISRO will have to work with private sector. Private sector can play that role and

that is the clarification issued by the chairperson of inspace that ISRO will continue to lead the space sector. It'll

just graduate into the domain of research and development and exploration while creating space for private

industry to take up the routine work of building rockets and launching satellites.

Next, Home Minister Amit Sha has made it clear that India has brought out a clear road map to ensure that drugs are

eradicated by 2029. A road map for Nasha Muktubarat, a drugfree India

has been laid down with a timeline to achieve the target by 2020 29. Homer Amita has said that this is part of

India's goal to become a vixit parat by 2047 because the drug menace is a serious

challenge. It not only leads to drug addiction which could be a social problem. It also is a security challenge

as it is tied with terror financing, money laundering and other organized criminal activities. So just like the

home ministry laid down the road map for Nakal Muktarat by 2026 and officially declared the achievement of the target.

Similarly, India is now setting a target for Nasha Muktarat as part of the fight against drugs. So to achieve this vision

a four tiered mechanism has been set up through the NORD the national coordination committee for countering

drug trafficking. It was set up in 2019 with the involvement of center

the state and district level authorities. The NCB, the Narcotics Control Bureau,

will act as the nodal agency and will coordinate with state police and district authorities to combat the

menace of drugs and drug trafficking. At the central level, it will coordinate with other concerned agencies like IB,

DRRI and ED, even the NIA and CBI wherever necessary to lead this fight against drugs. Then parallelly the

center has set up the dedicated mental health care telephone helpline through 1933 manus

to provide counseling for drug addiction to pull the youth away from drug addiction. NCB is also working with

education departments to conduct awareness campaigns at schools and colleges and there is a intensified

crackdown in coordination with state police to ensure that local drug trafficking modules are broken up. Plus

there is focus on strengthening border security vigilance along the border regions including the land and maritime

borders. So NCB is even coordinating with Coast Guard and Indian Navy to drive uh this uh vision to ensure that

India becomes free of drugs by 2029. Next there's an article related to health diplomacy as India is promoting

yoga and alternate traditional systems of medicine under Aayush

as part of its diplomatic initiatives. experts have expressed a concern. See, right now India has worked out important

free trade agreements. If you look at the FDA with Oman, the comprehensive economic partnership agreement or the

FDA with New Zealand or even the FDA with European Union, these three FDAs contain explicit provisions to promote

AIOS medicines and as well as mobility for AIOS AIOS practitioners.

So through these FDA roots, opportunity is being created for increasing the export of ayurvedic drugs and medicines

related to Aayush forms of medicine including Yunani, Sida and homeopathy. Plus it also has provisions for

simplified visas for Aayush practitioners and professionals to set up practice in these countries and

provide these services. Now this is a good initiative right? It creates a economic opportunity but of

course it faces criticism as well as alopathic system of medicine takes a clear stand against Aayush form of

medicine. While Aayosh form of traditional treatment could be seen as a alternate healthier uh lifestyle but its

credibility with regard to treating diseases, managing complex conditions is questionable and uh there is a lack of

scientific evidence and scientific standards uh even quality standards often are not maintained. So there is a

strong opposition that comes from the medical industry against the promotion of AIOS uh through our health diplomacy.

But the government is of the belief that this creates an opportunity for the oilish industry which is a a

multi-billion dollar industry which could further increase our exports. Uh it could also promote India as a

destination for medical tourism. In fact, India has even started issuing dedicated Aush visas. Those who seek

Aayush treatment in India, those foreign nationals are now being given dedicated Aayush visa. It was introduced in 2023.

Since then more than 3,000 such visas have been issued. See right now India is a big destination for medical tourism.

India receives around 6.44 lakh visitors who arrive in India for medical treatment as it is affordable and the

quality is also superior. So be it from African countries or our neighboring countries even from western countries as

well. patients come to India for good quality treatment and affordable treatment and India is quickly emerging

as a renowned medical tourism destination. So India's goal is to promote Aayush as

an alternate system which could bring in further push towards medical tourism and also create greater opportunities for

export of Aush products and create opportunities for Aayush professionals and practitioners. But experts are

warning that if you push unproven therapies, treatments without right quality controls and without a

strong scientific basis and without establishing the required standards, this could tarnish India's image. If

let's say speurious drugs are exported, it results let's say in a a tragic case of a death abroad. That could tarnish

the entire Indian medical industry. We have seen this happening with our pharma sector.

how Indian generic drugs and cough syrups have often been linked with deaths of children in Africa and central

Asian countries which brings a bad reputation which could harm our pharma and medical exports. As you know

pharmacy is a backbone of Indian economy. So the lack of quality, lack of

standards, lack of scientific basis is what brings up serious questions. While yoga can be seen as a a good

healthy lifestyle but promoting Aayosh forms of medicine as a penacia as a treatment has its own drawbacks and side

effects given the lack of scientific rigor and uh the lack of quality standards that are maintained. That is

why experts are urging the government to push for establishing better quality control scientific research and

standards before pushing health diplomacy. While the initiative is good, while a market needs to be created for

Aayosh, it can boost our medical tourism, increase our exports, but it has to be done with the right

infrastructure setup for ensuring adequate scientific research is taken up. There is a scientific basis for the

treatments so that it stands up to scientific scrutiny, peer reviews and the right quality standards can be

maintained to avoid any unexpected tragedies because once the image is tarnished this could have a crippling

effect on the entire pharma and medical industry of India. Now coming to the prelim section on page 10 there's an

article related to history. The Tamil Nadu state government along with its state archaeological department they

have launched an underwater archaeological survey.

This is the third such underwater archaeological survey being taken up along the coastline of Tamil Nadu. They

are specifically focused on one ancient historical site Pumura or the port of Caviri Pumpa Patinam. It's located in

the Myrautar district of coastal Tamil Nadu. It's believed to be the ancient capital of the Cholas and it was

renowned for its linkages with Southeast Asian uh empires with Romans and Greeks. In fact, it is even mentioned in the

periphus of the ariththrian sea. It also finds mention in uh ancient Tamil literature in the sungum literature. So

this historic site located in the cavaryi river delta on the banks of river cavi is being searched and

explored for archaeological evidence linked to the cholas. So please make a note of this ancient port city of Caviri

Papatinam located in the Myra Dutaray district of coastal Tamil Nadu. Next, Bhutan has become the first country

under WH's Southeast Asia region to completely eliminate rabies. As you know, rabies is a a deadly fatal

infection spread by wild rabbid animals. Sometimes even domesticated animals if they're not vaccinated. So from dogs or

to various other domesticated pets or even few wild rabbit animals could potentially spread rabies and once

infected once symptoms come up it's almost 100% fatality rate 99.99% the patient is going to pass away. So

given the high mortality rate fight against rabies has always been prioritized by the WHO the World Health

Organization. So WHO classifies India's neighborhood the South Asia region as part of Southeast Asia region. That is

how WHO classifies the South Asia Southeast Asia region under one category. So in the Southeast Asia

category where India is also located Bhutan has become the first country to completely eradicate rabies. It has

adopted a two-pronged approach as recommended by WH. One is to promote vaccination of

the dogs and the other targeted animals that could be potential vectors which could infect humans to

prevent animalto animal transmission and to promote immediate vaccination and a full administration course of the

human rabies vaccine to those who suffer a bite. If bitten by a possible you know rabid

animal like a dog right the first step is to focus on postexposure prophylaxis where you're supposed to wash the wound

properly with soap rinse it thoroughly and then take the full course of human rabies vaccine so that it gives you a

higher chance of you know fighting the infection. So Bhutan has successfully implemented this strategy and now it has

completely eliminated rabies. So please note it has become the first country in the South Asia Southeast Asia region to

eliminate rabies. The last topic in the supplement page the Hindu has published this spectacular image of a massive

volcanic eruption in Indonesia. See, Indonesia is not new to volcanic eruptions because it sits right on the

Pacific Ring of Fire and it is home to multiple active volcanoes. So the one currently erupted is Mount

Anak Krakata located near the Sunda Strait. You can see the strategic Sunda Strait here that

separates Sumatra from Java, the two major islands of Indonesia. In fact, the volcanic ash and particulate matter

which is being emitted is so massive that air traffic along the Sunda Strait including the Jakarta International

Airport has been completely shut because volcanic ash and the particulate matter is highly destructive for aircraft

engines. It presents a very serious risk for civil aviation and it is already disrupting aviation posing a threat for

the communities present around as well because the ash can eventually start depositing uh below creating challenges

for agriculture for human health etc. So please note the eruption the site of the eruption the location where it is

exactly located these points could be relevant for your prelims exam. So on this note I conclude today's session. I

hope you guys have understood everything and if you like the session do let me know through your comments and do press

the like button. That is it. Thanks for watching. We'll see you tomorrow.