Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 18 FEBRUARY 2019

::NATIONAL::

India to use AI for boosting good governance

•  Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhusaid that Government will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) for good governance and proper regulations and corrective action will be taken to protect citizen’s privacy and ownership of data.
•  India is transporting more data than US and China put together and the top six companies in the world are using this data with value addition and monetization. Suresh Prabhu added that India is strengthening its legal system and regulatory framework to deal with this world of digital data.
•  The Minister said that AI is the technology of today and one who masters this will rule the world. Every country is developing an AI strategy and India too is working on developing a strategy for the use of AI for the common good.
•  This is the first time in human history that machines are taking decisions based on data and experience and we have to learn to deal with this kind of decision making. Government will have to put in place mechanisms on how data is used and algorithms are written
•  As all the data being generated in world today is being controlled by few companies, it is creating asymmetries as very few create, understand and use this data
•  Government will have to take massive efforts in the fundamental education of every Indian from school level so that access to mathematics and technology is available to each and every student.
•  In the present world those who can’t access technology will be on the other side as AI is creating an ethical divide. Therefore, education at the foundation level has to be upgraded urgently.

Former PM says nation slipping to job-loss growth

•  The “jobless growth” has slipped into “job-loss growth”, which, together with rural indebtedness and urban chaos, has made the growing number of aspirational youths restless, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday, as he hit out at the government for failing to uplift the economy to its potential.
•  In his convocation address at the Delhi School of Management, Dr. Singh said the “grave agrarian crisis, the declining employment opportunities, the pervasive environmental degradation, and above all the divisive forces at work” were some of the challenges facing the nation.
•  “Suicides of farmers and frequent farmer agitations reflect the structural imbalances in our economy which call for serious in-depth analysis and political will to address them,” he asserted.
•  The attempts at creating additional job opportunities in the industrial sector have failed as industrial growth was not picking up fast enough, he alleged.
•  “The jobless growth slipping into job-loss growth, together with rural indebtedness and urban chaos have made the growing aspirational youths restless,” he said.
•  In a scathing attack on the government, Dr. Singh said the small and unorganised sectors which were vibrant and contributing to generation of wealth and employment opportunities have grievously suffered in the wake of the “disastrous” demonetisation and “slipshod” introduction and implementation of the GST.

::ECONOMY::

Agricultural atlas says current policies against rainfed agriculture

•  Three out of five farmers in India grow their crops using rainwater, instead of irrigation. However, per hectare government investment on their lands may be 20 times lower, procurement of their crops is a fraction of major irrigated land crops, and many of the flagship agriculture schemes are not tailored to benefit them.
•  A new rainfed agriculture atlas released this week not only maps the agro biodiversity and socio-economic conditions prevailing in such areas, but also attempts to document the policy biases that are making farming unviable for many in these areas.
•  There has been “negligence” toward rainfed areas, which is leading to lower incomes for farmers in these regions, admitted Ashok Dalwai, CEO of the National Rainfed Area Authority. He also heads the government’s Committee on Doubling of Farmers’ Income.
•  Speaking on the sidelines of a conference on revitalising agriculture in rainfed areas, he said farmers in such areas are receiving 40% less of their income from agriculture in comparison to those in irrigated areas.
•  Flagship government schemes, such as seed and fertiliser subsidies and soil health cards, are designed for irrigated areas and simply extended to rainfed farmers without taking their needs into consideration, said Dr. Das.
•  Dr. Dalwai agreed that a more balanced approach was needed to give rainfed farmers the same research and technology focus and production support that their counterparts in irrigation areas have received over the last few decades.

Centre to incentivise power plants to curb pollution

•  India has proposed incentives worth ₹885 billion ($12.4 billion) to encourage power plants to install equipment to curb emissions and to develop infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs), a government statement said.
• - The bulk of the money, ₹835 billion, would be aimed at curbing sulphur emissions from power plants, with the rest devoted to development of EV infrastructure in 70 cities over five years ending 2025.
•  The proposal by the Power Ministry to its finance commission is in addition to an existing proposal that envisages installation costs for emission-cutting equipment to be passed on to consumers.
•  The Ministry’s plans come against the backdrop of a utilities sector under financial stress, with loans from mostly state-run lenders turning sour or requiring restructuring, according to an Assocham-Grant Thorton report this month
•  India has already extended a December 2017 deadline for utilities to meet emissions standards by up to six years as power producers struggle to comply with stringent rules set out by the Environment Ministry in 2015 to cut emissions that cause lung diseases, acid rain and smog.
•  Thermal power companies account for 80% of all industrial emissions of particulate matter, sulphur and nitrous oxides in India.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Afghanistan complaints against Pak liason with Taliban at UNSC

•  Afghanistan has lodged a strong complaint with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) against Pakistan for its engagement with the Taliban.
•  In a letter written to the UNSC, Afghanistan's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Nazifullah Salarzai said, Pakistan's invitation to the Taliban amounted to a violation of Afghanistan's national sovereignty.
•  The letter said, as there is no co-ordination with the Afghan government, it poses a serious threat to the country's security.
•  In a tweet, Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sibghatullah Ahmadi said, Pakistan's move not only undermines the ongoing peace efforts but also falls in violation of UNSC Resolution 1988.
•  India's official policy on the Afghan peace process has been that it should be Afghan-owned, Afghan-led and Afghan-controlled.

Argentina President arrives in new delhi to expand bilateral cooperation

•  India and Argentina are expected to sign up to eight agreements during President Mauricio Macri’s visit to the country, including one to expand defence cooperation, Argentinian ambassador Daniel Chuburu has said.
•  Macri, who arrived in India on Sunday, is accompanied by a large delegation from Argentina’s nuclear sector that will participate in the first meeting of a joint committee on nuclear issues. Argentina is also keen to pitch medium and small nuclear plants made by a state-run firm to India, Chuburu said.
•  “We are [expecting to sign] seven or eight agreements, in areas such as defence, tourism, technology, education culture, and pharmaceuticals,” he said. “We hope the MoU we are signing in defence will open a lot of possibilities in different areas,” he said, adding an Indian delegation will go to Argentina in March to find ways to step up defence ties
•  Argentina, which has the world’s second largest lithium reserves, is eyeing the Indian market for lithium-ion batteries, especially in view of the government’s plans to ensure 30% of cars on the roads are electric vehicles by 2030, Chuburu said.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Scientists recommend increased efficiency in food production for future

•  About 37% of the area of the entire world is agricultural land, a third of which (about 11%) is used for crops. And as the population of the world rises to 9.7 billion people in 30 years, the land available for crops will reduce.
•  Thus, there is an immediate need to try and improve the efficiency of food production. Experts predict that agricultural yield must increase by 50% between now and 2050. How to do this is the question facing agricultural scientists across the world.
•  One way of achieving it has been shown in the model plant tobacco where the scientists could “engineer photosynthesis” by increasing the expression of three genes involved in processing light. This increases the tobacco yield by 20%.
•  Another way that some other scientists are trying is to reduce what is called photorespiration in plants. Here the energy and oxygen produced in the ‘light reaction’ of photosynthesis is drained by the plant to make “wasteful” products in the ‘dark reaction’, and not just carbohydrates and other food material, particularly when the plant’s leaves close in order to reduce water loss by evaporation
•  Seaweeds are rich sources of vitamins A and C, and minerals such as Ca, Mg, Zn, Se and Fe. They also have a high level of vegetable proteins and omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. Best of all, they are vegetarian, indeed vegan, and do not have any fishy smell, thus good and acceptable.
•  Scientists points out that among the seaweeds found in plenty, Ulva, Pyropia, Porphyra and Kappaphycus are edible and that it will be good to cultivate them in large scale, as is done in countries like Japan
•  Thus India should embark on Mariculture as vigorously as Agriculture, given its 7,500 km-long coastal line. Further, it does not require pesticides, fertilizers and water for irrigation, which is an added advantage.

::SPORTS::

Elise mertens wins Qatar open

•  In tennis, Belgium's Elise Mertens has claimed the biggest title of her career by beating top seed Simona Halep 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to win the Qatar Open.
•  Mertens, 23, recovered from a set and a break down - losing 18 points in a row at one stage in the second set - to beat the world number three Simona. Romania's Halep outclassed her opponent in the opening set, but Mertens powered back into the match to force a decider

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