Good evening, Aspirants. Welcome to the in the news analysis by Shankarai's Academy. These are the list of articles chosen for today's analysis. It has been given along with the page numbers of Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Tiruvannapuram and Hyderabad editions. The link for the hand written notes and the time stamping for the displayed articles is given in the description box below. And for the benefit of smartphone users, the time stamping is also provided in the comment section. Let's move on to our first article analysis for the day. This news discussion is based on invasive alien species. The syllabus relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. To understand the news article, let us first discuss about what do we mean by invasive alien species. Invasive species or invasive alien species is an alien species which means it is not native to the place and it belongs to a foreign country or some other location. In simple terms, we can say that alien species are species that occur outside their natural range. When these alien species threaten the native plants and animals or other aspects of biodiversity, then they are called as alien invasive species. So, the alien invasive species may be plants or it may be animals or pathogens or any other organisms that are not native to an ecosystem. Now, these invasive alien species are also called as exotic species, introduced species, foreign species, non-indigenous or non-native species. These alien species are a species that are introduced by humans either intentionally or otherwise through a human agency or it is a species that has been accidentally introduced from one region to another. The alien plant that has escaped from its original ecosystem and when that plant is reproducing on its own in the regional ecosystem, it is considered as a naturalized alien species. These naturalized aliens become successful to spread in the ecosystem and they displace the native biota that is they displace the plant life that existed in that particular region. So, when people purposely or accidentally bring non-native species or the alien species into new areas, the alien species have few natural predators or sometimes no natural predators to keep their population in check because these natural predators will feed on that particular invasive species and when they are not present, the population of that invasive species grows invariably. So, we can call this as a biological invasion and the biological invasion by alien species is recognized as one of the major threats to the native species and ecosystem. The effects on biodiversity by these invasive alien species that is the damages caused to an ecosystem by these species are enormous or huge and they are often irreversible. That is why even IUCN that is International Union for Conservation of Nature defines the invasive alien species as an alien species which becomes established in natural or semi-natural ecosystems or habitat. It is an agent of change and it threatens native biological diversity. Now, we may think that addition of non-native species in a new area will actually increase the species richness because the invasive species are added to the existing species pool. But the problem here is that these invasive alien species displaces the native species as we just saw and it leads to the extinction of native species. So, this leads to decrease in the species richness of the existing ecosystem in that area. We can tell that there is a negative interaction in the ecosystem which is leading to the decrease in the species richness of the existing ecosystem. So, what are these negative interactions? Some of the negative interactions are competition with the native species for food and sustenance. This may not allow coexistence that is it will not allow both species to be in a position to live together in that area. The next negative interaction can be the predation. Predation means the members of one species consume other species. Next reason can be the parasites. Parasites are those species which live on or which live in a host species and they depend on the host species for its food and survival. So, the host species will be affected and in our case the host species will be the native species. So, they will be affected. So, these are some of the negative interactions that happen in an ecosystem because of invasive alien species. Now, let us see some other effects of these invasive alien species on ecosystem. First, it leads to loss of biodiversity. Then it leads to decline of native species and these native species may be endemic species to that region as well. And by endemic we mean that that species are unique to that particular geographic location. And we also saw that even a pathogen that is a microorganism can cause a disease is also an invasive alien species. So, the introduction of pathogen will lead to reduced crop yields in case of plants and it leads to reduced stock yields in case of animals. And these invasive alien species also cause degradation of marine and freshwater ecosystems. So, they threaten the valued environmental agricultural or personal resource. Not only the invasive alien species have the ability to displace or replace native plant and animal species, but they also disrupt the nutrient cycle. Overall, we can say that invasive alien species cause economic or environmental harm or they adversely affect human health. They also affect the people's livelihoods in developing countries.  So, all these biological invasions by the invasive alien species causes great threat to biodiversity and it has already had devastating consequences and it still is leading to more devastating consequences for the planet. According to the Convention for Biological Diversity, invasive alien species are the second largest cause of biodiversity laws in the world. It imposes high cost to agriculture, forestry and aquatic ecosystem as we just saw. In fact, the Convention for Biological Diversity even says that the introduced species or the invasive alien species are a greater threat to native biodiversity than the combination of pollution plus harvest plus disease. So, we can say that how dangerous these invasive alien species are to the biodiversity. Therefore, the Convention on Biological Diversity and its members recognize that there is an urgent need to address the impact of invasive alien species and according to Article 8 clause H of the Convention on Biological Diversity, it states that members shall prevent the introduction of or control or eradicate those alien species which threaten ecosystems, habitats or species as far as possible. Even the Convention on Biological Diversity has set global priorities, guidelines and it collects information and it helps to coordinate international action on invasive alien species. Now, from examination point of view also know that the Convention on Biological Diversity which is in short called as CBD entered into force on 29th December 1993. Around 196 countries are parties to this Convention. Also know India is also a party to this Convention. India has ratified this Convention in the year 1994 and this Convention has three main objectives. One is the conservation of biological diversity, second the sustainable use of components of biological diversity and third the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. So, that is all about the invasive alien species. Now, let us discuss the news article based on this background. The news article mentions that the forest department of Tamil Nadu state is reintroducing the native solar tree species into the habitats that is to the places where they were displaced by invasive alien species. Here the names of the invasive alien species that are mentioned in the news article are vattle and eucalyptus trees. So, let us see in brief about vattle or black vattle tree and the eucalyptus tree species. These tree species are native to Australia. At present it is an invasive alien species that is distributed in western Guards of India. It was introduced for the purpose of afforestation in western Guards. This species regenerates rapidly after fire and forms dense thickets. Thickets means dense group of trees. So, it affects the native species. Now, the term Shola which is mentioned in the news article refers to the Shola forest grassland ecosystem. These grasslands are unique to western Guards. They are characterized by patches of stunted or small evergreen Shola trees in the valleys and grasslands which are present in the hill slopes in the higher reaches of western Guards. Now, the problem is that this forest grassland ecosystem is in great danger because of invasive alien species. In this case it is the vattle trees and eucalyptus trees. And because of this animal species like Nilgiri tar which depend on the grasslands for its food are in great danger. So, according to the news article the Shola saplings which were grown at the nurseries run by the forest department are being planted in some parts of Nilgiri's district. They are Avalanji, Cairn Hill and Kothagiri. Now in this the place Avalanji has the same spelling that of Avalanj which means a mass of snow, ice or rocks that are falling rapidly down a mountain side. So, don't confuse both. In our context this is a place called as Avalanji which is present in the Nilgiri's district. And the Nilgiri's district is located in the state of Tamil Nadu. So, with the plantation drive it is hoped that at least some of the damage that were caused to the forest can be undone with proper conservation and management. So, with this we come to the end of this news article discussion. Moving on to the next news article discussion. This discussion is based on the production of biodiesel from cooking oil. The syllabus relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. The news article talks about the joint initiative between the food delivery service Zomato and biodiesel manufacturer known as Biodenergy. This joint initiative is for the production of biodiesel. These two companies are partnering to collect used cooking oil from the restaurants in India and then to convert it into biodiesel. After this the biodiesel can be sold to oil marketing companies so that the biodiesel can be blended with regular diesel. In this context we need to understand the adverse health impacts of used cooking oil, how it is converted to biodiesel and also its advantage. As we know India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and energy is a critical input for development. So, considering the vast energy need for our population the government is trying to diversify our energy sources from oil gas and coal to renewable resources nuclear etc. Even then fossil fuels will continue to occupy a significant share in the energy basket of India at least for the next few decades. But conventional fossil fuels are limited, non-renewable and polluting. In this context biofuels provide an alternative. So what do we mean by biofuels? Biofuels are fuels that are produced from renewable resources. They are produced from the wastes and residues from agriculture and forestry, from vegetable oil and other non-edible oils. Then also from the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal wastes etc. Biofuel can be used in place of diesel, petrol or other fossil fuels or they can be blended with diesel, petrol or other fossil fuels for transport and for other applications. So biodiesel is one such biofuel. Biodiesel is a methyl or ethyl ester of fatty acids that is produced from non-edible vegetable oils, acid oil, used cooking oil or animal fat and bio oil. It is to be noted that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had earlier introduced a national policy on biofuels in 2018. One of the most important objectives of the policy is an indicative target that is proposed to be achieved by the year 2030. The target is 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel. At present the ethanol blending percentage in petrol is around 2% and biodiesel blending percentage in diesel is less than 0.1%. The policy also mentioned about the potential domestic raw materials that can be used for production of biodiesel in the country. They are non-edible oil seeds, used cooking oil or in short UCO, then animal tallow which is nothing but animal fat, then acid oil, then algal feedstock etc. In this a feedstock is defined as any renewable biological material that can be used directly as a fuel or converted to another form of fuel or energy product. One of the type of feedstock is biomass feedstock. These biomass feedstocks are the plant and algal materials. So, when the biomass feedstock is obtained from algal material it is known as algal feedstock. Then the policy has also proposed a biodiesel blending program to achieve the above mentioned targets. Then the policy has also said that ensuring domestic raw material for biodiesel production is an integral part for long-term success of this program. As we discussed the in-house produced used cooking oil or waste cooking oil offers potential to be a source of biodiesel production. In-house means produced internally in an organization or entity but the problem is that used cooking oil is most diverted to various small eateries or vendors and traders. So, the policy had stressed on the need to lay down stringent norms for avoiding the entry of used cooking oil in food stream and it also stressed to develop a suitable collection mechanism to augment used cooking oil supply for biodiesel production. In this same line the joint initiative between Zomato and the biodiesel manufacturer for the production of biodiesel will be carried out. In this context we also need to discuss some of the adverse health impacts of used cooking oil or waste cooking oil. You should know that during frying several properties of oil are altered on repeated frying total polar compounds or TPC are formed. So, what is this TPC? Numerous byproducts that are volatile and non-volatile in nature such as free fatty acids, alcohols, cyclic compounds, polymers etc. are produced during frying. The majority of these non-volatile byproducts are generally categorized as the total polar compounds. The total polar compounds or TPC is a widely accepted parameter to decide whether the oil is safe for further use or not. It is because the toxicity in these TPC can lead to several diseases such as hypertension, Alzheimer's disease, liver diseases etc. So, FSSAI has fixed a limit for total polar compounds at 25 percentage. Beyond this level the vegetable oil shall not be used for cooking. So, in this context also remember that FSSAI or Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is an autonomous body that is established under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It is the apex body in India related to food safety and regulation. So, in order to enable and ensure the collection and conversion of used cooking oil to biodiesel, FSSAI has introduced a program called as Repurpose Used Cooking Oil or in short RUKO. RUKO aims at converting huge amounts of used cooking oil into biodiesel. It aims to cut down fuel imports, it aims to reduce carbon emissions and also tackle health issues that is caused by reused cooking oil. So, how the used cooking oil is converted to biodiesel? The most important method to produce biodiesel from used cooking oil is through the chemical reactions of transesterification. So, what is this transesterification process? The used cooking oil is first refined through filtration process to remove the sediments. Now, know that the used cooking oil has fat in it and triglycerides are the main constituents of this fat and a triglyceride is an ester that is derived from glycerol and 3 fatty acids. This ester is an organic compound which has a functional R-C-O-O-R group and the ester is derived from carboxylic acid and alcohols. As the triglycerides are the main constituents of the fat in the used cooking oil, these triglycerides are treated with an alcohol such as methanol. In this picture, you can see the chemical process here sodium hydroxide is used as a catalyst to speed up the reaction. The products of this reaction are mixed fatty esters and glycerin. This complete chemical process is known as transesterification. It is because it is a process of exchanging the organic compound R double prime of an ester with the organic compound R prime of an alcohol. So, here the R double prime of ester is this one and R prime of an alcohol is CH3. So, this is exchanged to get the mixture of fatty esters and a byproduct glycerin. This mixture of fatty ester is then purified to get biodiesel and the byproduct glycerin is used in the cosmetic industry. Now, let us come to the news article discussion. The news article says that Zomato and biodiesel manufacturer, they both are aiming to collect 1000 tons of used cooking oil per month and they are aiming to convert it into biodiesel. This initiative is believed to help long-standing problem of disposing the used cooking oil. With this, we come to the end of this news article discussion. Moving on to the next news article discussion. This news article discusses about national milk safety and quality survey. The syllabus relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. The public confidence in the safety and quality of milk and milk products is adversely affected due to frequent reports and messages that are appearing in the media including social media in the recent past. The reports or messages highlighted large-scale adulteration of milk and milk products in the country. So, to assess the safety and quality aspects of milk, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India that is FSSAI carried out a safety survey on safety and quality of liquid milk in the country. This survey is called as National Milk Safety and Quality Survey 2018. This survey was carried out from May 2018 to October 2018 covering all states and union territories. Samples were collected both from the organized and unorganized sectors. Organized sectors refers to the retailers and processors. Then unorganized sectors are the local dairy farms, milk vendors and milk mundies. The survey covered raw milk as well as various types of processed milk. All samples collected were uniformly tested on the spot for critical parameters of quality and safety. According to FSSAI, this survey is a first of its kind, most comprehensive survey of safety and quality of liquid milk. According to FSSAI, there are 13 common adulterants in milk. So, what is an adulterant? An adulterant is a chemical which is added to pure substances or food to extend the quantity while reducing the quality. According to FSSAI definition, adulterant is a substance that is not legally allowed but it is added to food by unscrupulers or unethical elements for excessive profits. The 13 common adulterants present in the milk are detergents or caustic soda, hydrogen peroxide, urea, boric acid, nitrates, neutralizer, vegetable oil or fat, sugar, glucose, starch, maltodextrin, ammonium sulphate and cellulose. In this, all these 6 adulterants are not safe for human consumption. They are dangerous from food safety point of view. These 6 adulterants are not injurious to health upon consumption but their addition is not desirable from quality point of view. As a part of this survey, the milk samples were tested for the presence of these 13 adulterants and they were also checked for 3 contaminants in milk. The 3 contaminants are pesticides, aflatoxin M1 and antibiotics. See, contaminants are those substances that makes a particular food or substance impure. According to FSSAI definition, contaminants are undesirable substances that are not intentionally added but they are unvoidably present due to environmental contamination or due to food production and handling practices. Then, the milk samples were also checked for fat and SNF. SNF means the solid non-fat. The solid non-fat portion of milk consists of proteins such as casein and lactal boomin, carbohydrates like lactose and minerals like calcium, phosphorus, etc. You can see that the fat and SNF consumption in your regular milk sachet that are available for retail sale in the shop. According to FSSAI, this survey and its outcomes are myth busters. That is, it has proved that rumors are wrong. The survey results indicate clearly that the milk which is sold in India is largely safe for consumption. Now, let us see in brief about the outcomes of this survey. The survey has shown that 12 out of 6000 samples of milk were adulterated. The adulterated milk is unsafe for human consumption. Out of 12 adulterated samples, 9 were in Telangana, 2 were from Madhya Pradesh and 1 from Kerala. Let us see some of the important outcomes of the report that is mentioned in this news article. The study noted that processed milk including that of major brands have failed to meet the prescribed quality norms. 37.7 percentage of the total samples that were tested did not meet the quality requirements. In terms of quality, the survey found that 37.7 percent of the total sample of processed milk did not comply with the quality parameters. This is because of the presence of adulterants such as fats, maltodextrin and sugar which were above the permissible limits. Then, another finding of this survey is that 10.4 percentage of the processed milk samples were non-compliant to FSSAI norms on contaminants like aflatoxin, M1, antibiotics and pesticides. Then in case of raw milk, the non-compliance of norms on contaminants was even at a higher rate. It was found that around 47 percentage of the total raw milk sample did not comply to the norms of FSSAI. The CEO of FSSAI has said that the common people think that adulteration is more in milk but the survey results have proven otherwise because contaminants are more in milk and these contaminants may cause serious illness and sometimes even death. So, based on the survey findings, the FSSAI has now directed the organized daily sector to strictly start complying with the quality norms by January 2020. So, from examination point of view, let us see about one important contaminant in the milk which is aflatoxin M1. In general, aflatoxins are a family of toxins that are produced by certain fungi. These toxins are found on numerous agricultural crops like maize, grains, etc. Now, when the fodder of these crops is fed to milk animals, that is the animal which is kept for giving milk, the milk which these animals produce also carries certain quantity of aflatoxins. These are called as aflatoxin residues. This is how the milk sample is contaminated with aflatoxin. If the aflatoxins are found in large quantities, they can even lead to death.  The milk is particularly contaminated with aflatoxin M1. The survey has found that problem of aflatoxin M1 is more dominant in processed milk than in the raw milk. Then the states and union territories which are at the top where the aflatoxin residues were found the most are Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Kerala. We saw that aflatoxin M1 comes in the milk through feed and fodder. At present, the feed and fodder are not regulated in India. And it is for the first time that such a detailed survey of the presence of this residue in milk has been done in India. And according to the CEO of FSSAI, there is no proper lab to test aflatoxin M1 residues in India. So, initiatives are being taken to invest in testing machines that can detect the residue of aflatoxin M1. With this we come to the end of this news article discussion. Moving on to the next news article discussion which is about the recommendation of new Chief Justice of India by the present Chief Justice of India. The syllabus relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. See there are three organs of the government. We all know that legislature, executive and judiciary. And Indian judiciary is a single and an integrated judiciary system. And the judiciary is independent of the other organs of the government. According to article 124, clause one of Indian constitution, there shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India and other judges. So, remember that the post of Chief Justice of India is a constitutional post. The Chief Justice of India and the judges of Supreme Court are appointed by the president. They are appointed according to article 124, clause two of Indian constitution. We will see more about the office and functions of the Chief Justice of India in the future sessions. Now, let us discuss this news article. The news article mentions that the present Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gagoy has recommended Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde as his successor. So, the successor will be the 47th Chief Justice of India. Now, in this context, know that there is a memorandum of procedure for the appointment of judges. This memorandum of procedure is for both the Chief Justice of India and also for the judges of Supreme Court of India. As per this memorandum of procedure, appointment to the office of Chief Justice of India should be of the senior most judge of the Supreme Court and this senior most judge of Supreme Court should be considered fit to hold the office. At the appropriate time that is when the outgoing Chief Justice of India is about to retire, at that time the Union Prime Minister of Law and Justice will seek the recommendation of the outgoing Chief Justice of India. This recommendation is for the appointment of the next Chief Justice of India. After receiving the recommendation of the CJI, the Union Minister of Law and Justice will put up the recommendation to the Prime Minister. Then the Prime Minister will advise the President in the matter of appointment of the next Chief Justice of India. Now, when there is a doubt about the fitness of senior most judge who is eligible to hold the office of Chief Justice of India, then a consultation with other judges of Supreme Court is carried out. This is as per Article 124, Clause 2 of Indian Constitution. Based on the consultation, the next Chief Justice of India will be appointed by the President. So, based on this memorandum of procedure for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of India has sent his recommendation to the government and also know that the present CJI is due to retire this November. Now, after this the communication will be put up before the Prime Minister and then it will be forwarded to the President. If Justice Sharad Arvind Bopde is appointed as new Chief Justice of India, then he will have a tenure of 18 months and he will retire on April 2021. So, this is all about this news article. Moving on to the next news article discussion. This discussion is based on financial action task force and the great listing of Pakistan. The syllabus relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. Today's news is that the financial action task force or in short FATF has retained Pakistan on the gray list. The FATF has also given a strict warning to Pakistan that it will be blacklisted. Pakistan will be blacklisted if it does not fulfill the global standards criteria for combating terror financing and this has to be done by February 2020. The discussion on FATF what do we mean by gray listing or blacklisting? Why Pakistan is graylisted and why it will be blacklisted? What happens if Pakistan is blacklisted? All these we have discussed already on 23rd June and 24th August Hindu news analysis. The link for the same is given in the description box and also in the comment section. Please have a look at these videos for better understanding. Moving on to the final news article discussion which is based on coffee then coffee production and then also about international coffee organization. The syllabus relevant to the analysis of this news article is given here for your reference. This news article is about a statement made by the international coffee organization or in short ICO. ICO has said that the next wave of growth in the international coffee industry will come from Asia. It has also said that India is expected to play a lead role in driving this growth in Asia. So, in this context let us first discuss in brief about the Indian coffee. In India coffee is cultivated in about 4.54 lakh hectares and it is cultivated by 3.66 lakh coffee farmers. Coffee cultivation is mainly done in the southern states of India. In this Karnataka amounts for 54 percentage of coffee produced in India. Kerala amounts for 19 percentage. Tamil Nadu amounts for 8 percentage. Then coffee is also grown in non-traditional areas like Andhra Pradesh and Odisha which amounts for 17.2 percentage of coffee produced and it is also produced in northeastern states which amounts for 1.8 percentage of coffee produced in India. It is said that coffee was introduced in India during 1600 A.D. It was introduced by a legendary holy saint known as Baba Buddha. The place where he planted the coffee seeds is now called as the Baba Buddha Girish which is a mountain in western Ghats in Karnataka. The commercial plantations of coffee were started by the British entrepreneurs during the 18th century. Since then the coffee industry in India has made rapid advancements and it has earned a distinct identity in the coffee map of the world. During 1940s the coffee industry in India was in a desperate state and this was due to very low prices because of the World War II and also due to ravages or devastation caused by pests and diseases. In order to ensure better management of the coffee sector the coffee board was established under the Coffee Act 7 of 1942. The coffee board functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and it is headquartered at Bengaluru. It is said that the coffee board serves as a friend, philosopher and guide to the coffee sector. The core activities of this board are aimed at enhancement of production, productivity and quality of Indian coffee and also supporting the development of domestic market for Indian coffee and also the export promotion of Indian coffee to get higher value returns. Now let us discuss about the growing conditions for Indian coffee. It is essential to provide proper shade or cover to the coffee plants. This is to protect them from high radiation levels and to protect them from rising temperature and nearly 50 different types of shade trees are found in Indian coffee plantations. These shade trees prevent soil erosion on a sloping terrain and it protects the coffee plant from seasonal fluctuations in temperature and they also play host to diverse flora and fauna. Now the coffee plantations in India are also a spice world. It is because a variety of spices and fruit crops are also grown alongside coffee plants like pepper, cardamom, vanilla, orange and banana and India's coffee growing regions have diverse climatic conditions which are well suited for cultivation of different varieties of coffee. Some regions with high elevations are ideally suited for arabicas which are of mild quality and when the climatic condition is warm and humid then it is suited for robustas. Now these arabicas and robustas are nothing but types of coffees. Some important varieties of Indian coffees are kens arabica s7-9 or selection 795 coffee then kaveri coffee then selection 9 coffee and robusta coffee. These types of coffees differ in their flavor, they differ in quality and they also differ in the tolerance towards leaf rust. Leaf rust is the most important disease of coffee worldwide. It is caused by a parasitic fungus that infects coffee plants. Recently if you remember geographical indication tag was awarded to five varieties of Indian coffee. This is very important from the examination point of these varieties of coffee are kurg arabica coffee from kodagu in karnataka then vayanad robusta coffee from vayanad in kerala then chikmangalore arabica coffee from chikmangalore in karnataka then arakh valley arabica coffee from andhra pradesh and odisha and then finally bababudan giri's arabica coffee from karnataka. So this is all about the Indian coffee. Now let us discuss about the international coffee organization or ICO. The ICO was set up in London in the year 1963 under the auspices or backing of the united nation. It is set up by UN because of the great economic importance of coffee. The ICO administers the international coffee agreement. This international coffee agreement is an important instrument for the development cooperation between coffee producing countries and coffee consuming countries. The latest agreement is the international coffee agreement 2007. This agreement entered into force in the year 2011. ICO is the main intergovernmental organization for coffee. It brings together the exporting and the importing governments through international cooperation. This is to tackle the challenges that is faced by the world coffee sector and the member governments of ICO represent around 98 percentage of world coffee production and they represent 67 percentage of world coffee consumption. ICO aims to develop a sustainable world coffee sector and it aims to reduce poverty in the developing countries. This is done by enabling governments and the private sector to exchange views on coffee matters. It is done by developing and seeking finance for projects that benefit the world coffee economy. Then by promoting coffee quality. Then by encouraging the development of strategies to enhance the capacity of local communities and small scale farmers. Then it is also done by promoting the training and information programs which are present to assist the transfer of relevant technology to coffee cultivation and coffee production. So now with this background let us discuss about the news article. According to the news article Asia's coffee production has almost doubled in the recent years. It has doubled from 16 percentage to 32 percentage. The major contributors to this production are Vietnam and India. Most of the Asian countries have reported a 5 percentage increase in the consumption of coffee. According to the news article in India there is a 6 percentage increase in the consumption of coffee. The news article also says that ICO has conducted a comprehensive stakeholder consultation study to understand the problems of the coffee industry. So that is all about this news article discussion. With this we come to the end of news article discussion sessions. Now we have come to the last session for the day that is the practice questions discussion session. In this this first question is based on invasive alien species. Four statements are given and we have to choose which of the following statement is not related to invasive alien species. First one is they are not native to the ecosystem to which they have been introduced. Yes this statement about invasive alien species is correct. Second statement it supports the population of native species. Now the statement is wrong. The invasive alien species leads to the decline of the population of native species. So this statement is wrong and if you see statements C and D they are also correct and they are also related to invasive alien species. So the correct answer to this question is option B. This next question is a direct question based on Shola forest grassland ecosystem and we have to say in which of the following places it is found eastern guards, western guards, Chotanakpur plateau, Shivallik ranges. Based on today's discussion you can easily say that this Shola forest grassland ecosystem belongs to the western guards and even they are unique to the western guards. So the correct answer is option B western guards. This next question is based on national policy on biofuels 2018. Two statements are given. The first statement is one of the objective of the policy is an indicative target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel is proposed by 2030. Now all these numbers are correct with respect to ethanol and also with respect to biodiesel and the target is also said by 2030. We discussed this elaborately during discussion. So this statement is correct. The second statement states it was formed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. This statement is wrong because this policy was formed and introduced by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. So the correct answer to this question is option A one only. In this next question five substances are given and we have to choose which of these are common adulterants that can be found in milk. Hydrogen peroxide, sugar, pesticides, detergents, aflatoxin M1. Now we discussed all these during the discussion. So you may get confused while answering this question. So rather than remembering all the adulterants you can use one trick by remembering the contaminants. We discussed that pesticides, aflatoxin M1 and antibiotics are the contaminants. So here we can remove pesticides and aflatoxin. So the correct answer should contain 1, 2 and 4. So the correct answer to this question is option C. In this question two statements are given and we have to choose the correct statement. The first statement is coffee cultivation is mainly done in the northeastern states of India. During the discussion we saw that coffee is cultivated in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and northeastern states. But this question says it is mainly done in northeastern states of India which is wrong because the northeastern states account for only 1.8 percentage of coffee cultivation which is very less compared to other states. The largest producer of coffee in India is Karnataka. So this statement becomes a wrong statement. The second statement is coffee was introduced in India by the Europeans with commercial objectives. Now this statement is wrong because according to the coffee board of India, coffee was introduced in India during 1600 AD by a legendary holy saint called as Baba Buddha. And the commercial plantations of coffee were started by the British entrepreneurs during 18th century. So the Europeans did not introduce coffee in India. So this statement also becomes a wrong statement. Here the question asks for the correct statement. Here neither statement 1 is correct nor statement 2 is correct. So the correct answer to this question is option D. With this we have come to the end of today's interview analysis. If you like the video don't forget to like comment and share and do subscribe to Shankar IAS Academy YouTube channel for more updates related to civil service examination preparation.


Microbiota plays an important role in maintaining homeostasis and regulating immune function. It has been shown to be involved in the development of various diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers and respiratory diseases. Clinically, microbiota modulation and fecal microbial transplantation have been used to treat these diseases. This article was authored by Kai Chen Hu, Chua Sun Wu, Shen Yu Chen and others.