1. Vizhinjam Port
- Context: Coastal States and port cities will become key growth centres for a developed India: Prime Minister.
- PM commissioned Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport in Kerala’s capital.
Key Highlights:
- APSEZ is developing this deep-sea water port as India’s first Mega Transshipment Container Terminal.
- Significance: Vizhinjam Port offers large scale automation for quick turnaround of vessels with state-of-the-art infrastructure to handle Megamax containerships.
- Advantage: closest to the International East-West Shipping Channel, which connects the Persian Gulf, southeast Asia, and the far east to Europe.
Transshipment deepwater seaport:
- It is a port that can handle large ships that carry cargo from one place to another.
- It has a deep water channel and a large berth area for loading and unloading goods. It also allows the transfer of cargo from one ship to another at the port.
Prelims special:
Q. Which of the following States has explored the possibility of constructing an artificial inland port to be connected to the sea by a long navigational channel? (UPSC 2016)
- Andhra Pradesh
- Chhattisgarh
- Karnataka
- Rajasthan
Ans: (d)
2. Inter-state Water Dispute
- Context: Punjab and Haryana were at disagreements after the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) decided to release water to Haryana.
Inter-State River Water Disputes:
- They are one of the most contentious issues in Indian federalism today.
- The recent cases of the Ravi and Beas water dispute, Krishna Water Dispute, Cauvery Water Dispute and the Satluj Yamuna Link Canal are some examples.
Constitutional Provisions:
- Entry 17 of the State List deals with water i.e., water supply, irrigation, canal, drainage, embankments, water storage and hydro power.
- Entry 56 of the Union List empowers the Union Government for the regulation and development of inter-state rivers and river valleys to the extent declared by Parliament to be expedient in the public interest.
- Article 262, in case of disputes relating to waters:
- Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution or control of the waters of, or in, any inter-State River or river valley.
- Parliament may, by law, provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or complaint as mentioned above.
Mechanism for Inter-State River Water Disputes Resolution:
- As per Article 262, the Parliament has enacted the following:
- River Board Act, 1956: This empowered the GoI to establish Boards for Interstate Rivers and river valleys in consultation with State Governments.
- To date, no river board has been created.
- Inter-State Water Dispute Act, 1956: In case, if a particular state or states approach the Centre for the constitution of the tribunal, the Central Government should try to resolve the matter by consultation among the aggrieved states.
- In case, if it does not work, then it may constitute the tribunal.
- Note: Supreme Court shall not question the Award or formula given by tribunal, but it can question the working of the tribunal.
- River Board Act, 1956: This empowered the GoI to establish Boards for Interstate Rivers and river valleys in consultation with State Governments.
- The Inter-State Water Dispute Act, 1956 was amended in 2002, to include the major recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission.
Prelims special:
Q. Which one of the following statements is correct as per the Constitution of India?(UPSC 2024)
- Inter-State trade and commerce is a State subject under the State List.
- Inter-State migration is a State subject under the State List.
- Inter-State quarantine is a Union subject under the Union List.
- Corporation tax is a State subject under the State List.
Ans: (c)
3. Artificial Intelligence(AI)
- Context: Facial recognition software using Artificial Intelligence — software can scrape billions of images from the Internet without permission, recognise faces, and identify individuals.
Artificial intelligence(AI):
- It is a branch of computer science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers.
- It describes the action of machines accomplishing tasks that have historically required human intelligence.
- It includes technologies like machine learning, pattern recognition, big data, neural networks, self algorithms etc.
- E.g: Facebook’s facial recognition software which identifies faces in the photos we post, the voice recognition software that translates commands we give to Alexa, etc are some of the examples of AI already around us.
Generative AI:
- It is a cutting-edge technological advancement that utilizes machine learning and artificial intelligence to create new forms of media, such as text, audio, video, and animation.
- With the advent of advanced machine learning capabilities: It is possible to generate new and creative short and long-form content, synthetic media, and even deep fakes with simple text, also known as prompts.
- Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) will transform into Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which can mimic the capabilities of human beings.
- It will dramatically improve the standard of living of millions of human beings.
- Negative impact: AI would undermine human values and that advanced AI could pose ‘existential risks’.
AI innovations:
- GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks)
- LLMs (Large Language Models)
- GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformers)
- Image Generation to experiment
- Create commercial offerings like DALL-E for image generation
- ChatGPT for text generation.
- It can write blogs, computer code, and marketing copies and even generate results for search queries.
Deep Fakes:
- They are synthetic media, including images, videos, and audio, generated by artificial intelligence (AI) technology that portray something that does not exist in reality or events that have never occurred.
- The term deepfake combines deep,taken from AI deep-learning technology (a type of machine learning that involves multiple levels of processing), and fake, addressing that the content is not real.
- It can create people who do not exist, and it can fake real people saying and doing things they did not say or do.
Ethical Issues with AI:
Prelims special:
Q. With the present state of development, Artificial Intelligence can effectively do which of the following? (UPSC 2020)
- Bring down electricity consumption in industrial units
- Create meaningful short stories and songs
- Disease diagnosis
- Text-to-Speech Conversion
- Wireless transmission of electrical energy
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- 1, 2, 3 and 5 only
- 1, 3 and 4 only
- 2, 4 and 5 only
- 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Ans: (b)
4. MICE tourism
- Context: India is poised to become the global capital of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) tourism: Union Minister for Culture and Tourism
MICE Tourism:
- MICE is a term used in the tourism and events industry to categorize and represent a segment related to business and corporate tourism.
- MICE tourism involves organizing and hosting events, meetings, conferences, exhibitions, and incentives for companies and groups.
- Aim: To facilitate networking, knowledge exchange, business collaborations, and the showcasing of products and services within a professional or business context.
- Purpose: create a networking platform for business, industry, government and Academic Community and engage in meaningful conversations.
Prelims special:
Q. Consider the following statements:(UPSC 2024)
- India is a member of the International Grains Council.
- A country needs to be a member of the International Grains Council for exporting or importing rice and wheat.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Ans: (a)
5. Adi Sankara
- Context: Adi Sankara, born in Kalady, in 8th century, and hailed as a manifestation of Parameswara Himself.
Adi Shankaracharya or Shankara
- He was an ancient Indian philosopher and theologian who lived in the early 8th century CE.
- Birth: He was born in Kalady, a village in present-day Kerala.
- Revered as an avatar of Lord Shiva, it is believed that he mastered the Vedas when he was just 16.
- Philosophical Contributions:
- He spread his commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita amid a rise in Jainism and Buddhism.
- Role: Development and propagation of Advaita Vedanta, a non-dualistic school of Hindu philosophy.
- The fundamental philosophy of Advaita Vedanta lies in the unity of atma (soul), or individual consciousness, and brahma or the ultimate reality.
- According to this philosophy of non-duality, God and humans are not two and the material world is an “illusion”.
- He founded ‘Dashanami Sampradaya,’ which talks about leading a monastic life.
- He condemned the ‘Mimamsa school of Hinduism’, which was purely based on ritual practices.
- Four Mathas: He established four prominent monastic centers in India, each associated with one of the cardinal directions:
- Sringeri in the south
- Dwarka in the west
- Puri in the east
- Badrinath in the north.
Prelims special:
Q. Which one of the following is a work attributed to playwright Bhasha?(UPSC 2024)
- Kavyalankara
- Natyashastra
- Madhyama-vyayoga
- Mahabhashya
Ans: (c)