4th July - AAJ KA QUALITY ENRICHMENT

KEYWORDS
Culture of technology co-innovation:

• Meaning: It refers to an environment or mindset that fosters collaboration, partnership, and shared innovation among various stakeholders within the technology ecosystem.
• It emphasizes the idea that innovation is best achieved through collaborative efforts and the pooling of knowledge, expertise, and resources.
• Usage: It can be used in Education skill and innovation, R&D, IPR and patents in India, scientific community and academia collaboration, Digital India, Start-up India etc.

Connecting science to Society, Culture and Heritage: 

• Meaning: It signifies that it is crucial for ensuring that scientific knowledge and advancements benefit and resonate with people's lives, values, and historical contexts. 
• Usage: It can be used in questions related to - bridging the gap between scientific advancements and societal usefulness, in Education skill and innovation, value of traditional knowledge, R&D, IPR and patents in India etc.

From Passive Governance to Responsible Governance:

• Meaning: It represents a change in the approach and mindset of governing bodies towards more proactive and accountable governance practices. 
• Usage: It can be used in questions related to Good Governance, Policy implementation, Economic development, Ethics – Responsibly and accountability, Probity in governance etc.

From Policy of Output to Policy of Outcomes:

• Meaning: Output refers to the specific actions, activities, or products that result from a policy or program. 
• It focuses on the quantity or volume of work completed. 
• Outcome: Refers to the intended or actual impact or result achieved by the policy or program. It emphasizes the desired changes or improvements in society, individuals' lives, or specific sectors.
• Usage: It can be used in government policies and schemes, outcome budgeting, Women empowerment, LGBTQ+ rights, Urbanization, Policy implementation, Social Justice, Health, Education, Inclusive Development, Infrastructure Development, Disaster Management, Internal security etc.

CASE STUDIES/ EXAMPLES
Step taken to fight invasive species, prevent man-animal conflict and sustain ecosystem:

• Case: New Delhi.
• Step taken: Forest and wildlife departments are planting fruit species after removal of lantana.
• Benefits: It will prevent growing this invasive species, prevent monkeys, nilgais etc. in search of food to cities and will also improve the ecosystem of the region.
• Negative side of the social media platform:
• Case: France, Myanmar, Sri Lanka.
• Misuse of the social media: Protester around these countries used the social media platform to coordinate, spread hate speech, misinformation and extremism.

Benefits of cash transfer to needy just before the disaster strikes:

• Aid agencies (Like World food programme) are trying giving small bits of cash to people (in countries like Mozambique, Bangladesh) just before disaster strikes, instead of waiting until afterward.
• Step taken is known as: One-off payments, known as anticipatory cash relief.
• Benefits: People who got the money were “less likely to go a day without eating”, less likely to have sold off their animals or taken out high-interest loans, fewer deaths among women and children, during those floods, compared with those who didn’t receive payments. 
• Significan

KEY FACTS
Under-representation of SCs, STs and OBCs in academic institutions: 

• Country’s population: SC, ST or OBC makes around 80% while 20% are “upper” caste. 
• In academic institutions: 98% of professors and 90% of assistant or associate professors are from the “upper” castes in IISc, IIT Delhi, Bombay, Kanpur and Kharagpur. 

The success story of access to potable tap water:

• Tap water in rural areas: Increased from 16% in 2019, to around 64% in 2023.

PM/VP/PRESIDENT SPEECHES
PM Speech on Corruption:

• There is a need of ‘Zero tolerance towards corruption’, (and) at the same time there is a need to provide a working environment which is enabling, which allows civil services to give maximum outlet to their potentials and capacities.

JUDGEMENTS/ COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

• Supreme court in TMA Pai (2002) and PA Inamdar (2005): Ruling on unaided academic institutions:
• In TMA Pai: SC established the administrative, academic and financial autonomy of unaided institutions. 
• In PA Inamdar: SC laid down a triple test for professional college admissions to ensure fairness, transparency and non-exploitation. 

DEFINITION
Dark Patterns: 
Definition: Dark patterns, also known as deceptive patterns, is the term used to describe the ways in which websites or apps make their users do things that the users do not intend to do or would not otherwise do, as well as to discourage user behavior that is not beneficial for the companies.
Ex: Think of that annoying advertisement that keeps popping up on your screen, and you can’t find the cross mark ‘X’ to make it go away because the mark is too small to notice (or to click/ tap). 

State sponsored Terrorism:
Definition: State sponsored terrorism refers to a form of terrorism, under which, the State directly or indirectly promotes terrorism, either overtly or covertly/secretly or through the use of non-state actors.
Ex: Pakistan (Jaish e-Mohammad, Lashkar e-Taiba), Iran (Hezbollah).


QUOTES

• Quote on Sportsmanship: “One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it.” - KNUTE ROCKNE 
• Meaning: It emphasizes the importance of actions over mere words. 
• It suggests that embodying the principles and values of sportsmanship through personal behavior is more impactful than simply advocating for those principles without actively demonstrating them. 

• Quote on Politics: “The promise given was a necessity of the past, the word broken is a necessity of the present.”    - NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI
• Meaning: It suggests that in the past, making promises or commitments was seen as necessary, but in the present, breaking those promises has become more common or necessary.