1. FIRST REGULATION LAW ON AI (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Sci and Tech)

Context: The European Union becomes the very first continent to set clear rules for the use of AI.

• The world’s first set of comprehensive laws to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) after a marathon 37-hour negotiation between the European Parliament and the EU member states.

The EU Framework

• Facial Recognition: The agreement incorporates stringent limitations on facial recognition technology and the use of AI for manipulating human behaviour. 

oStrict penalties are outlined for companies found violating these regulations.

• Surveillance Guidelines: Governments are authorized to employ real-time biometric surveillance in public areas only under specific circumstances, such as serious threats like terrorist attacks.
• EU Classification of AI Applications: This framework categorizes AI applications into four risk classes.

oCertain applications, including mass-scale facial recognition and those focused on behavioural control, face significant restrictions or outright bans.

oHigh-risk applications, like AI tools for self-driving cars, are permitted but subject to certification and transparency requirements.

India’s Approach

• India has positioned itself, particularly to Global South nations, as a country adept at leveraging technology for scalable governance solutions.
• At the core of India's strategy is Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), a framework where government-sanctioned technology serves as the foundation for developing diverse use cases by private entities.
• Having successfully applied the DPI model, India now aims to adopt a similar approach for Artificial Intelligence (AI).

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2. RRTS Syllabus GS Paper 3 - Infrastructure)

Context: Recently, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation initiated the trial run of the Namo Bharat train, covering the 12-km stretch between Duhai and Modinagar as part of the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) corridor.

Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS)

• About: RRTS is an integrated, mass transit network which aims to ensure “balanced and sustainable urban development” through better connectivity and access across the NCR
• Launched: October, 2023.
• Constructed by: The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).
• NCRTC: It is a joint venture company of the Central government and the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• Ministry: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• Objective: to ensure “balanced and sustainable urban development” through better connectivity and access across the NCR.
• It is a state-of-the-art regional mobility solution, comparable to the best in the world.
• Speed: RRTS trains will travel significantly faster than metro trains. 
• These will operate at a speed of 160 km/hour but are designed to be able to run at speeds up to 180 km/hour.

Namo Bharat Trains

• “Namo Bharat” is the name of India’s first regional rapid train operating between Delhi and Meerut.

Eight Identified RRTS Corridors: Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut, Delhi-Gurugram-SNB-Alwar, Delhi-Panipat, Delhi – Faridabad – Ballabgarh – Palwal, Ghaziabad – Khurja, Delhi – Bahadurgarh – Rohtak, Ghaziabad-Hapur, Delhi-Shahdara-Baraut.

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3. YUVAI PROGRAMME (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Govt Schemes)

Context: The Ministry of Electronics and IT has said that the program - 'YUVAi- Youth for Unnati and Vikas with AI’ will be featured at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit beginning from upcoming week in New Delhi.

YUVAi- Youth for Unnati and Vikas with AI

• About: The programme, designed to equip the youth with essential AI skills, has garnered attention for its innovative approach and commitment to enabling a future-ready workforce.
• Collaborative Initiative: National e-Governance Division, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Intel India.
• Aim: to foster a deeper understanding of AI, to enable school students from class 8 to 12 across the nation with AI skills, and to empower them to become human-centric designers and users of AI.

Features of YUVAiProgramme

• YUVAi programmeis being implemented in multiple cohorts to ensure that maximum students stand a chance to become future-ready.
• more than 8,500 students registered, post which, they attended online orientation sessions to learn fundamental concepts of AI.

oTeachers also enrolled into the program and underwent orientation sessions.

• Shortlisted students attended online deep dive AI training and mentorship sessions with certified Intel AI coaches and experts – helping students enhance their solutions.
• Top 50 students were shortlisted and they were invited to attend a four-day face-to-face rapid modeling workshop.

Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit

• It is a global platform bringing together leaders, policy makers and experts in the field of AI. It will provide an ideal stage for YUVAi to showcase its impact and significance.

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4. INDIA-EU FTA ON IMPORT DUTIES (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – IR)

Context: India recently proposed resolving a longstanding dispute with the European Union by offering exclusive import duty concessions for specific information technology products within the proposed bilateral free trade agreement.

Key Points

• The government is considering restricting the reduction in information and communication technology (ICT) tariffs to EU members, addressing concerns related to these duties.
• Lowering tariffs for non-FTA countries would necessitate India applying equivalent duties to their information technology imports on a Most Favoured Nation (MFN) basis.
• India and the EU formally re-launched negotiations on FTA in June 2022.
• As per the WTO process, bilateral consultation is the first step to resolve a dispute when a complaint is filed. 
• If both sides are not able to resolve the matter through consultation, either of them can seek establishment of a dispute settlement panel.

European Union (EU)

• About: EU is a supranational political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe.
• Nuber of Countries: 27 Countries
• European Union Countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
• Objective: EU promotes democratic values in its member nations and is one of the world's most powerful trade blocs.
• Headquarters: Brussels (Belgium)

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5. MSME (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: Recently, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) underscored the crucial role of lending to MSMEs in the Renewable Energy sector, emphasizing economic and environmental benefits.

Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)

• About: MSMEs fall under the regulatory purview of the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act of 2006.
• Classification of MSMEs:

oMicro: Investment in Plant and Machinery or Equipment: Not more than Rs.1 crore and Annual Turnover ; not more than Rs. 5 crore.

oSmall: Investment in Plant and Machinery or Equipment: Not more than Rs.10 crore and Annual Turnover ; not more than Rs. 50 crore.

oMedium: Investment in Plant and Machinery or Equipment: Not more than Rs.50 crore and Annual Turnover ; not more than Rs. 250 crore

Renewable Energy in India 

• India stands 4th globally in Renewable Energy Installed Capacity (including Large Hydro), 4th in Wind Power capacity & 4th in Solar Power capacity (as per REN21 Renewables 2022 Global Status Report).
• The country has set an enhanced target at the COP26 of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based energy by 2030.

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6. ZONAL COUNCIL (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: Recently, during the Eastern Zonal Council (EZC) meeting in Patna, Union home minister acknowledged the prevailing concerns regarding Bihar's caste-based survey and expressed optimism that the state government would address these issues.

Zonal Councils

• Statutory Body: Five Zonal Councils were established in the year 1957 under Section 15-22 of the States Reorganization Act, 1956. 
• At Present There are 6 Zonal Councils– Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, Southern and North-Eastern.

• Composition: The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of these Zonal Councils, while the Chief Ministers of the States included in the respective Zonal Council and the administrator and lieutenant governor of the union territories are its members.

oTwo more ministers from each state are nominated by the Governor as members of the council.

oEach Zonal Council has also constituted a standing committee at the level of chief secretaries.

Objectives:

• Bringing out national integration
• Arresting the growth of acute State consciousness, regionalism, linguism and particularistic tendencies.
• Enabling the Centre and the States to co-operate and exchange ideas and experiences.
• Establishing a climate of co-operation amongst the States for successful and speedy execution of development projects.

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7. NAEG (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Governance)

Context: Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances DARPG has launched the scheme and web-portal for National Awards for e-Governance NAeG.

National Awards for e-Governance Scheme

• Objective: To acknowledge and promote excellence in the execution of e-Governance initiatives.
• Aim: To foster innovations in successful e-Governance solutions.
• Nomination Process: As per a statement by DAPRG, nominations for the National Awards for e-Governance 2024 can be registered and submitted online at www.nceg.gov.in. The deadline for submission is the 29th of this month.
• Prestigious Recognition: The Scheme is widely recognized as one of the most competitive and prestigious digital governance awards schemes in the country.

Award Categories

• Five Categories under which the NAeG 2024: Government Process Re-engineering, Application of Emerging Technologies for providing Citizen Centric Services, District level initiatives in e-governance, Research on Citizen Centric Services by Academic and Research Institutions, and Replication of Top Technological Initiatives.
• Prizes: The department will grant 10 lakh for the Gold Medal and 5 lakh for the Silver Medal, respectively, recognizing outstanding implementation of projects or bridging resource gaps in any area of public welfare.

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8. QUALITY CONTROL ORDERS (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: Recently, India has robustly defended the quality control orders implemented across diverse sectors, asserting that these measures are essential for maintaining product quality, safeguarding human, animal, and plant health, and preventing deceptive practices.

• The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu had last year raised concerns over India’s quality control orders over the years in sectors, such as toys, chemicals, ICT (information and communication technology) products, and automobile parts. 

Quality Control Orders (QCO)

• About: QCOs serve as regulatory measures implemented by the government to establish quality standards for specific products or product categories.
• Objective: To control the import of sub-standard and cheaper items into the domestic market. 

oThis ensures that customers have access to quality products meeting prescribed standards.

• WTO and QCOs: QCOs cannot be contested at the World Trade Organization (WTO) when imposed on grounds of health, safety, environment, deceptive trade practices, or national security.
• Role of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS): To guarantee compliance with quality standards outlined in QCOs, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) plays a crucial role.
• Certification by BIS: BIS is responsible for certifying products that meet the prescribed standards, catering to both domestic and international manufacturers.
• BIS Act, 2016: Under the BIS Act, 2016, the QCOs explicitly prohibit the manufacturing, storing, and sale of non-BIS certified products.

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9. CAUVERY BASIN (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Geography)

Context: Recently, a paper published by scientists and researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, revealed that natural vegetation on nearly 12,850 sq. km of land in the Cauvery basin was lost in the 50 years between 1965 to 2016.

• Karnataka has lost much more than any other State in the basin.

Key Points

• The Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Bandipur National Park, Nagarhole National Park, and the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary have experienced adverse changes in the extent of forest cover.
• In the case of the Bannerghatta National Park, the moist deciduous forest area, previously at 50% in 1973, decreased to 28.5% in 2015. 
• This reduction is attributed to "anthropogenic pressure" on the National Park and its surroundings.

Cauvery Basin

• About: It is the largest river in the Karnatka state.
• Known as:  Dakshina Ganga (the Ganges of the South) and considered one of the sacred rivers of India.
• Origin: Bramahagiri Hills near Madikeri in Coorg.
• Tributaries: Harangi, Hemavathi, Lakshmanatirtha, Kabini, Shimsha, Arkavati, Suvarnavathi or Honnuholé,  Bhavani, Lokapavani, Noyyal.

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10. NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Governance)

Context: The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has formed a high-level committee to ensure the arrest the spread of an oil spill and prevent it from entering the sea cause by Cyclone Michaung.

National Green Tribunal

• Formation: A statutory body established by an Act of the Parliament i.e., National Green Tribunal, Act, 2010.
• Objective: The effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources.
• Inspired by:

oUnited Nations Conference on the Human Environment held at Stockholm in 1972.

oUnited Nations Conference on Environment and Development held at Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

oConstitution of India under Article 21.

• NGT Powers: The following are the Acts under which NGT can take actions and has authority to take actions:

oThe Water (Prevention and Control of pollution) Act, 1974
The Water (Prevention and control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977

oThe Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

oThe Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution), 1981

oThe Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

oThe Biological Diversity Act, 2002

• However, the NGT Act does not cover two important legislations : The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and Forest Rights Act, 2006.
• Important points related to NGT:

oIt is not be bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, or the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

oIt shall be guided by principles of natural justice.

oIt is vested with the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure

oTribunal is mandated to make and endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of filing of the same.

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