DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS
1 – Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions
Context:
- The Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) was recently unveiled by the US President and Indian Prime Minister.
About iCET:
- The Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies, a framework for cooperation between India and the U.S., focuses on critical and emerging technologies in fields like:
- Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, wireless communication, and semiconductors.
Highlighted areas:
- Establishing New Delhi and Washington, D.C. as trustworthy technology partners for the growth of supply chains and the co-production and co-creation of commodities is the fundamental goal of the iCET.
Key findings:
- Building a new roadmap for defence industrial cooperation to speed up technological collaboration for joint development and production; establishing a research agency partnership to boost collaboration in domains like artificial intelligence; establishing uniform AI standards; establishing a “innovation bridge” to connect defence companies, a strategy for accelerating defence technical cooperation, a semiconductor ecosystem, and stepping up collaboration on human space exploration.
Prior to this:
- To foster collaboration in OpenRAN, 5G, and 6G, the two countries have already established the Quantum Coordination Mechanism and a Public-Private Dialogue (PDD) on Telecommunication.
- A new initiative to promote cooperation in cutting-edge technology, the India-U.S. Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X), is soon to be unveiled.
- Additionally, a plan for “Defence Industrial Cooperation” between India and the U.S. to guide policies for the upcoming several years has been finalised.
- The two countries have also established a Strategic Trade Dialogue to remove regulatory barriers and look at present export control standards in order to advance the strategic trade and technological cooperation envisioned under iCET.
Source The Hindu
2 – Toponyms: GS I – Indian Culture
Context:
- A toponym is a word that is formed from the name of a place, and it can refer to a town, a particular piece of land, or anything else that is specifically associated with a location.
Use of toponyms
Balkanization:
- Balkanization is the division of a region into several, enmity-filled factions.
- Although English editor James Louis Garvin is often credited with coining the phrase, A.J. Toynbee (1922) attributed credit to German socialists who used it to describe the effects of the Brest-Litovsk treaty.
- When the European Ottoman Empire broke up into small, at war states, the political situation in the Balkans was being addressed.
- The noun form is called balkanization.
Laconianism and Spartanism
- The Laconian city-state of ancient Greece had Sparta as its capital.
- The Spartans were notorious for saying as much as they could in the fewest words.
- This type of word economy is referred to as a laconism; the adjective is laconic. It is named after the name of the Spartan nation.
- The Spartans led a harsh existence and had no tendency to seek pleasure.
- As a result, a person who leads a disciplined life with the fewest comforts possible is referred to as a “spartan”.
Stoic:
- The name of an Athens colonnade or portico known as the Stoa, which is still present as a reconstructed monument, is where the word “stoic” originates.
- The philosopher Zeno founded a school here around 308 B.C.
- According to stoicism, an intellectual person should be devoid of emotion, unaffected by happiness or sadness, and respectful of nature’s laws.
- Stoicism or stoical resignation, as these terms are currently used, refers to a person’s ability to maintain emotional control in stressful situations and to accept life’s problems without complaining.
Shanghaied:
- In informal conversation, the verb “shanghai” means to coerce or push someone into taking a particular action.
- It has its roots in Shanghai, a port city in China, where men were forced to serve on ships headed for the Far East by means of coercion, including the use of drugs.
- If you’ve ever been the victim of shanghai, you are aware when you are being conned into making a poor decision.
- Bangalored: It relates to a situation in which a US IT specialist lost their job after relocating to a nation with a lower cost of labour.
Source The Hindu
3 – Pride flag: GS II – Social Issues
Context:
- The LGBTQIA+ community celebrates in large numbers throughout India in June, which is recognised as Pride Month abroad.
What is the Pride flag?
- A Pride flag essentially represents the pride associated with LGTQIA+ social movements.
- The Pride flag was used by activists, members of the community, and supporters as a symbol of acceptance and defiance.
- It was created by well-known American activist and artist Gilbert Baker.
What does the name Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag mean?
- The intersex has generally been underrepresented in LGBT tales.
- Intersex individuals are born with sex traits, such as gonads, genitalia, and chromosomal patterns, that do not fit the stereotypes of either the male or female body.
- Intersex Equality Rights (UK), who chose to alter the Pride Progress flag design to include the intersex flag, developed the Intersex-Inclusive Pride banner in 2021.
What do the colours of the flag stand for?
- Orange represents healing, while red represents life.
- Old Concepts in Red
- Green = Success
- Blue is a symbol for peace.
- Violet + Spirit
- Black and brown individuals make up a portion of the Chevron workforce.
- White, blue, and pink are colours that are used to symbolise transgender people.
- Intersex people are yellow with a purple circle around them.
Source The Hindu
4 – Miyawaki forests: GS III – Environmental Conservation
Context:
- The Indian Prime Minister mentioned the Miyawaki plantation, a Japanese method for packing thick urban forests into a small area, in his most recent “Mann ki baat” segment.
What is the Miyawaki plantation method?
- The Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki is honoured by the name of this plant.
- Using this method, two to four distinct native tree species are planted in each square metre.
- With this method, the trees grow to their maximal size and become self-sustaining in three years.
- The technique was developed in the 1970s with the main objective of maximising the amount of vegetation on a small piece of land.
- The Miyawaki method mostly employs self-sufficient plants that don’t require regular maintenance like mowing and watering.
In India’s woods, the following native plants are frequently used:
- Arjun, Bel, Amala, Gunj, Anjan, and so on.
Significance:
- An important factor in absorbing the dust from the region where the garden has been planted is the dense canopy of native trees.
- Plants also help to regulate surface temperature.
- The soil becomes more fertile and the surface temperature is controlled as an ecosystem develops around the new biodiversity that these trees nurture.
A Mumbai experiment:
- 64 Miyawaki woodlands have already been delivered to Mumbai.
- The first urban forest was created in Bhakti Park in the eastern suburb of Chembur as part of the urban forest plan, which included the introduction of the Miyawaki Drive in 2020.
- The project’s largest Miyawaki forest was constructed in Chandivali’s Nahar Amrut Shakti Udyan, where over 41,000 trees were planted across 13 acres.
Source The Hindu
5 – Uniform Civil Code: GS II – Constitution-related issues
Context:
- The 22nd Law Commission of India sought opinions from the general public and from religious organisations on the issue of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
What was the 21st Law Commission’s stance on the issue?
- The 21st Law Commission of India advocated for their reform by revision and codification of particular provisions in 2018 to make family laws of all religions more gender-just.
- The Law Commission promoted equality “between men and women within communities” (personal law reform) as opposed to equality across communities (UCC).
The Uniform Civil Code should be described as:
- The Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which would apply to all religious communities in India, would include a single set of laws that would regulate things like marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption.
- Article 44 of the Constitution requires the state to try to create a unified civil code for its citizens across the whole Indian subcontinent, and this statute is required by that provision.
Why is Article 44 important?
- Article 44 of the Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution was established to eliminate prejudice against vulnerable groups and harmonise various cultural groupings across the country.
- It was written into the Constitution as a clause that would take effect once the nation was prepared to accept it and the UCC could get public support.
Origins of the Uniform Civil Code:
- The UCC first came into existence as a result of a report from the British government in 1835 that emphasised the need for uniformity in the codification of Indian law with regard to crimes, evidence, and contracts and specifically advised against including personal laws of Hindus and Muslims in such a codification.
- In 1941, the government established the B N Rau Committee to codify Hindu law in response to an increase in personal-related regulations following the end of British rule.
- The task of the Hindu Law Committee was to determine if common Hindu laws were required.
- According to the scriptures, women would be given equal rights under a codified Hindu law that was advocated by the committee.
- The committee looked at the 1937 Act and recommended that Hindus have their own civil code for marriage and succession.
Source The Hindu
