Daily Prelims Notes 8 February 2023

February 8, 2023
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

8 February 2023

Table Of Contents

1. Amend / Withdraw Norms to Set Up Zoos, Safaris Within Wildlife Sanctuaries

Subject : Environment

Section: Environment laws

Context: A Supreme Court-constituted panel has asked the Union Environment Ministry to amend or withdraw the guidelines related to setting up zoos and safaris within tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries to discourage the use of wildlife habitats for tourism activities which are non-site specific.

More on the News:

Central Empowered Committee (CEC) also said that approvals given for setting up zoos and safaris within tiger reserves and protected areas should be withdrawn forthwith.
Permission can only be given for activities involving rescue and rehabilitation of injured or incapacitated animals from the same landscape.
According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) guidelines issued in 2012 and amended in 2016 and 2019, tiger safaris can be established in buffer and fringe areas of tiger reserves to “reduce pressure of tourism on core and critical tiger habitats and to foster awareness for eliciting public support”. It is therefore imperative that the guidelines issued in 2012, 2016 and 2019 in this regard are amended/withdrawn.
The establishment of zoos over forest areas should not be considered a non-forest activity, doing away with the need for approval under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. Only in exceptional cases, the fringes of the buffer zone of protected areas may be considered for the construction of a zoo on forest land.
The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) also should not consider and approve the establishment of zoos and safaris within tiger reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, along animal corridors and animal dispersal routes.
The location of such safaris and zoos shall not endanger the life of the natural population and eco-tourism, and wildlife education should not be at the cost of survival of the endangered species. It should also not result in shrinkage of the already limited habitat available to such endangered species.
It is a well-accepted fact that zoo animals often harbour deadly diseases and are also a source of transmission of diseases to wild animals despite the stringent conditions imposed by the CZA. Keeping in view the precautionary principles, setting up zoos and safaris within wild animal habitats is best avoided.

Guidelines to Establish Tiger Safari in Buffer and Fringe Areas of Tiger Reserves

Tiger Safari may be considered for establishment in the buffer and fringe areas of tiger reserves to reduce pressure of tourism from core/critical tiger habitats and to foster awareness for eliciting public support.
These guidelines apply to those tiger reserves which experience 100% utilization of their carrying capacity in the core/critical habitat.
The Field Director shall be overall responsible for establishment, management and administration of the tiger safari with inputs from the Local Advisory Committee (LAC). The overall responsibility of the Tiger Safari at the State level would rest with the Chief Wildlife Warden of the concerned State along with oversight of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Central Zoo Authority, New Delhi.
The selection of the animal shall be done in conformity of section 38 I of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 after due approval of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA).
Criteria and procedure for establishment of a Tiger Safari:
- Tiger dispersal routes shall be avoided in all circumstances
- The area of a Safari Park may be as large as possible, however, minimum area of a safari for tigers should be 40 hectares, extendable as per requirements. It must be ensured that the biological requirements of the animals kept therein are fully met. Clearances under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, shall be taken wherever applicable.
- The topography for the safari should be undulating and well drained, without steep slopes
- The vegetation maintained in the Safari Park should be of an indigenous nature. The density should be regulated according to needs, and to provide naturalistic effect. It should provide shelters and withdrawal areas to animals. It must be ensured that adequate tree cover is always maintained in the safari.

Central Zoo Authority

The CZA is a statutory bodyconstituted under Wildlife protection act amended in 1992.
It is chaired by the Environment Minister
Apart from the chairman, it consists of 10 members and a member-secretary.
Almost all of them are officials in the Environment Ministry and non-government experts are those who are wildlife conservationists or retired forest officers.
Functions:1) to specify the minimum standards 2) to evaluate and assess the functioning of the zoos 3) to recognise or derecognise zoos; 4) to identify endangered species 5) to coordinate the acquisition exchange 6) Identify priorities, themes and approval of Master Plan 7) Provide technical assistance to Zoos 8) to release financial assistance to Zoos 9) to ensure maintenance of studbooks 10) to coordinate training of zoo personnel 11) to coordinate research and education.

2. Wildlife Institute of India working on vaccine to reduce ‘vermin’ populations

Subject : Environment

Section: Environment laws

Context: The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is working to develop immuno-contraceptive measures for population management of species that have become problematic for humans in many parts of the country.

More on the News:

The new measures will be able to reduce reproduction in the species by making the female sterile. This will be done by injecting a vaccine made from a hormone derived from the ovary lining of pigs.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) approved the 10-year research project for developing the immuno-contraception in 2016.
The project deals with population management of species involved in human-wildlife conflict. It includes a study on immune-contraceptive measures for population management of four species namely elephant, wild pig, Rhesus macaque and Nilgai.

Vermin

The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 brings in a major change by reducing the number of schedules from six to four. It proposes to remove Schedule V completely.
Originally, the WLPA, 1972 currently has six schedules that assign varying degrees of protection to animals and plants.
Under Schedule I and II of the Act, for instance, animals and birds such as tigers and elephants are offered the highest protection.
Schedule V lists species classified as ‘vermin’, such as common crows, fruit bats, rats and mice, which may be hunted freely.
Though the act does not define the word ‘vermin’, WLPA’s 62^nd section grants the central government the power to declare any wild animal (other than those specified in Schedule I and Schedule II) as ‘vermin’ for any area and a specified period.

Background:

The category of ‘vermin’ in the WLPA has distinct colonial origins. The British Raj brought to India the ideas of desirable animals (suitable for hunting and subsequent consumption being considered game) and problematic animals (considered vermin).
British legislation was the first to mandate the extermination of vermin as seen in India under the WLPA, 1972. These were the Tudor Vermin Acts that allowed eradication of nuisance animals or agricultural pests.

Vermin:

Vermin are usually considered problem or nuisance animals that attack humans, crops, livestock or property.
In order to prevent human-wildlife conflicts, several states in the past have petitioned to declare various animals to be ‘vermin’, including elephants, Indian porcupine, bonnet macaque, common langur and barking deer.
In 2016, the Centre declared rhesus monkeys in Himachal Pradesh, wild boar in Uttarakhand and Nilgai in Bihar to be ‘vermin’.

The Vermin Acts included The Preservation of Grain Act, 1532, which created an official list of ‘vermin’ animals. These included owls, otters, foxes, hedgehogs and others that were seen as bad omens or competitors of food with humans.

Dangers of Mass Culling:

Ecological Imbalance due to blanket permission & financial incentives by Govt to eradicate vermin population
Exacerbate Human Wildlife Conflictg.: unscientific killings of rhesus monkeys disrupt the power hierarchy among them and babies or sub-adults might not know how to behave and, thus, might cause havoc and create more conflict.
Endanger targeted species and fatal for non-targeted species (traps and snares)
long-lasting impact on the ecosystem and biodiversity.

3. Forest Fire in Odisha

Subject : Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context: Odisha has seen more than 200 cases of forest fires since the beginning of the year, with the latest one in a reserve forest at Anantapur village.

More on the News:

There have been 1,151 fire incidents in the state from January 1 to February 7, according to the SNPP-VIIRS monitoring system, the Forest Survey of India’s (FSI) website noted.
Last year, there were just 405 fire incidents for the same period, according to the SNPP-VIIRS monitoring system. This is a 284 per cent increase in the number of fire incidents for the same period.
Odisha have not received any rainfall since November. It has been more than three months of dry spell. State mostly have deciduous forests with majorly Sal trees, their dry leaves are falling and getting accumulated on the forest floor which is leading to ground fires as the temperatures are rising.

Forest Fire:

Forest fires, also called wildfires and bush or vegetation fires, are described as uncontrolled, often widespread burning of plants in forests, grasslands, brushland, and tundra.
Types of Forest Fires:
- Surface fires– easiest fires to control and cause the least damageas they burn only surface plant litter.
- Ground fires– also called ‘underground’ or ‘subsurface fires’, burn within humus, peat, and piles of vegetationthat are dry enough to burn. Although such fires spread very slowly, they are often difficult to suppress or fully extinguish, which makes them dangerous.
- Crown fires– most intense and dangerousforest fires as they burn whole trees and can spread rapidly by spreading across tree tops due to winds.
- The UNEP report provides a new classificationfor forest fires – landscape fires and
Landscape firesare defined as being seasonal, of moderate intensity (with few instances of high intensity), easily controlled, and having a low environmental impact (for some species it may even have a positive impact).
Wildfires are defined as extreme events, of high intensity, that are difficult to control, and have severe social, economic, and environmental impacts.

Efforts to protect forests from fire:

In 2004, the FSI developed the Forest Fire Alert Systemto monitor forest fires in real time.
In its advanced version launched in January 2019, the system now uses satellite information gathered from NASA and ISRO.
The real-time fire information from identified fire hotspots is gathered using MODIS sensors(1km by 1km grid) and electronically transmitted to FSI.

What needs to done:

Creation and maintenance of fire lines in forest areas, engagement of fire watchers, creation of water storage structures, strengthening of forest infrastructure, procurement of firefighting equipment, soil and moisture conservation in high risk areas, awareness creation and incentivizing villages / communities for protection against forest fires.

4. BRO comes up with energy efficiency habitat, tents for Leh

Subject: Environment

Section: Climate Change

More on the News:

The Border Roads Organization (BRO) is in the process of developing Energy Efficiency Habitat for its personnel at CE Project Himak in Leh at a cost of ₹45.90 crore.
the overall layout of the Habitat has been done in a manner to achieve a climate-responsive and thermally efficient building and its design has been vetted by IIT Roorkee.
It will reduce energy consumption for heating and lighting by 60 per cent, achieve a cost savings of approximately ₹64 crore over its 50-year design life.
The project has been planned on Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) and Eco-Niwas Samhita 2018, meant for residential buildings.
BRO has also come up with integrated energy conserving tents. These are PUF insulated flexible floor tents, highly energy conservating and useful for mobile detachments, explained BRO officials.
Outer and inner lining is polyester fabric coated with polyethylene lining, and it is self-extinguishing and fire retardant. The tents can withstand high windspeeds up to 120 Kmph and are fitted with 3-in-1 room heating system with hot plate for cooking and hot water tank.

5. DGP Appointment

Subject :Polity

Section : Msc

Concept :

The Nagaland government on Saturday issued an order appointing Rupin Sharma as Director General of the state police, and relieved him of the charge of Home Guards and civil defence.

Background

On January 23, the Supreme Court had directed the Nagaland government to appoint the 1992-batch IPS officer as police chief within a week.
The order was passed after Nagaland challenged the Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) recommendation of Sharma as the only candidate for the post.

Procedure of DGP Appointment

Supreme Court had refrained State governments from appointing DGPs without first consulting the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

It came up with the following guidelines:

The State governments concerned have to send UPSC the names of the probables three months before the incumbent DGPs are to retire.
The UPSC will prepare a panel of three officers fit to be DGP and send it back.
The UPSC shall, as far as practicable, choose the people within the zone of consideration who have got a clear two years of service and must give due weightage to merit and seniority.
The State, in turn, shall “immediately” appoint one of the persons shortlisted by the UPSC.
On the practice of States appointing “Acting DGPs”, the court rejected the idea of acting or temporary DGPs, i.e.. States shall appoint a person as permanent DGP.
The court also ruled that any rule or state law on the subject of appointment of police officers will be kept in suspension. However, the States, which have made laws on police appointments, can move to court seeking modifications of its order.
The court had passed the series of directions on an application made by the Centre for modification of its judgement in Prakash Singh Case of 2006 for reforms and transparency in the State police forces.

Prakash Singh Case

In Prakash Singh Case of 2006, the Supreme Court gave 7 directives with a view to bring in police reforms.
In passing these directives the Court put on record the deep rooted problems of politicization, lack of accountability mechanisms and systemic weaknesses that have resulted in poor all round performance and fomented present public dissatisfaction with policing.

The directives are:-

Constitute a State Security Commission (SSC) to ensure that the state government does not exercise unwarranted influence or pressure on the police, lay down broad policy guideline and evaluate the performance of the state police.
Ensure that the DGP is appointed through merit based transparent process and secure a minimum tenure of two years.
Ensure that other police officers on operational duties (including Superintendents of Police in-charge of a district and Station House Officers in-charge of a police station) are also provided a minimum tenure of two years.
Separate the investigation and law & order functions of the police.
Set up a Police Establishment Board (PEB) to decide transfers, postings, promotions and other service related matters of police officers of and below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police and make recommendations on postings and transfers above the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Set up a Police Complaints Authority (PCA) at state level to inquire into public complaints against police officers of and above the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police in cases of serious misconduct, including custodial death, grievous hurt, or rape in police custody and at district levels to inquire into public complaints against the police personnel below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police in cases of serious misconduct.
Set up a National Security Commission (NSC) at the union level to prepare a panel for selection and placement of Chiefs of the Central Police Organizations (CPO) with a minimum tenure of two years.

6. Avian Flu

Subject : Science and technology

Section :Health

Concept :

The ongoing avian flu outbreak is considered the largest observed in Europe to date, according to the European Food Safety Authority, an EU agency. Between October 2021 and September 2022, 50 million farm birds had to be culled in 37 countries
Tests revealed that the highly pathogenic avian flu virus H5N1 was the culprit.
To stop the spread of the dangerous pathogen, more than 50,000 mink on the farm were killed.

Avian Influenza

A disease caused by avian influenza (AI) Type A viruses found naturally in wild birds worldwide.
AI viruses are broadly classified as low pathogenic AI (LPAI) and highly pathogenic AI (HPAI) viruses, based on their pathogenicity.
The two virus types identified so far in the outbreaks H5N1 and H5N8 come under the category of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), which is of major concern to those keeping birds, because it leads to disease and death of fowl and causes economic havoc. H5N1 is a known threat to humans as well.
The virus can infect domestic poultry including chickens, ducks, turkeys and there have been reports of H5N1 infection among pigs, cats, and even tigers in Thailand zoos.
There is no vaccine against H5N1.
Most avian influenza viruses do not infect humans, however some, such as A(H5N1) and A(H7N9), cross the species barrier and cause disease or subclinical infections in humans and other mammals as well.
The Avian (H5N1) virus subtype, a highly pathogenic virus, first infected humans in 1997 during a poultry epidemic outbreak in Hong Kong SAR, China.

Types of Influenza Virus

There are four types of influenza viruses: influenza A, B, C, and D.
Influenza A and B are the two types of influenza that cause epidemic seasonal infections nearly every year.
Avian influenza belongs to Type A viruses
Type A viruses are classified based on two proteins on their surfaces – Hemagglutinin (HA) and Neuraminidase (NA).
There are about 18 HA subtypes and 11 NA subtypes.
Several combinations of these two proteins are possible e.g., H5N1, H7N2, H9N6, H17N10, H18N11 etc.
Influenza C mainly occurs in humans, but has been known to also occur in dogs and pigs.
Influenza D is found mainly in cattle. It’s not known to infect or cause illness in humans yet.

How Does it Spread to Humans?

Several subtypes and strains of avian influenza viruses are now found around the world, some of them capable of causing death among humans and others inflicting serious losses on poultry farmers.
Though Human to Human transmission — which takes place mostly after intimate and constant physical contact — is rare, the infection is virulent and, in an estimated 60% of cases, fatal.
There are no known instances of the flu spreading through ingestion of the bird, even though people do contract it while plucking or culling an infected bird without proper protection, or if they are in a water body that has the droppings of an infected bird.
In humans, the symptoms of bird infection are the same as that of any other seasonal flu — fever, body ache, sore throat, runny nose, headache, fatigue, etc., however, it can turn serious very quickly, and lead to respiratory distress.

Why is the mink farm outbreak is concerning?

While there have been some cases of H5N1 infecting humans, the World Health Organization has said there’s no evidence of human-to-human transmission so far.
When the disease has spread to humans and other mammals, it has been via direct contact with excrement from infected birds or their carcasses.
But the mink outbreak appears to be a rare case where mammals are transmitting the disease to each other rather than through direct contact with an infected bird.

7. Assam crackdown on Child Marriage – What does the law say

Subject : Schemes

Concept :

The Assam Government has arrested over 2,000 men in a state-wide crackdown on child marriages.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the police will retrospectively book people who participated in child marriage in the last seven years.
Assam has a high rate of maternal and infant mortality, with child marriage being the primary cause, according to reports by the National Family Health Survey (NFHS).

Men are arrested under which law?

Men who married girls below 14 years of age would be booked under the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (commonly known as POCSO Act).
The POCSO Act criminalises sex between a minor and an adult.
The law does not recognize a minor’s consent as valid.
Meanwhile, those marrying girls between 14 and 18 years would be booked under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act:

The POCSO Act was enacted in 2012. It criminalises sex between a minor and an adult.
It is a gender-neutral act; it also recognizes that boys can also become victims of sexual violence as well.
It defines a child as someone under the age of 18.
The law does not recognize a minor’s consent as valid.
Section 19 of the POCSO Act imposes a “mandatory reporting obligation” which requires every person who suspects or has knowledge of a sexual offence being committed against a child must report it to the police or the Special Juvenile Police Unit. Failure to do so will result in imprisonment, a fine, or both.
The mandatory reporting obligations also require doctors to report cases where minor girls seek medical services during pregnancies.

Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006:

The act says that child marriages are illegal but not void.
They are voidable only when the minor partner asks the court to declare the marriage void.
The Act prescribes 18 years as the minimum marriageable age for women, while for men it is 21 years.
The Act punishes child marriage with imprisonment which may extend to 2 years or with a fine which may extend to Rs 1 lakh or both.
The punishment also extends to anyone who performs or conducts any child marriage.

The debate over the Muslim legal age of marriage under personal law:

Under Muslim personal laws, the marriage of a bride who has attained puberty is legal.
Puberty is presumed on completed at the age of 15 years.
The age gap difference provision between Muslim personal law and special legislation prohibiting child marriages or the sexual activity of minors classifying it as a criminal offence.

Judiciary’s Opinion:

The Supreme Court is currently examining this issue since different High Courts have ruled differently on it.
In January 2013, the Karnataka High Court ruled that the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act will have an overriding effect on the provisions of Muslim personal laws.
Recently, The Punjab and Haryana High Court in a string of rulings has held that a Muslim girl can legally marry after attaining puberty.
In October 2022, the Karnataka High Court quashed a POCSO case against a Muslim man.
He was arrested after a hospital made mandatory disclosures under the law when his pregnant wife, aged 17 years and two months visited a doctor.

Central Government’s Opinion:

In 2021, the Central government sought to introduce the Prevention of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2021, to raise the manageable age for women across all religions, from 18 to 21 years.
However, the Parliament panel examining this is yet to submit its report, after receiving an extension in October 2022.
Ministry of Women & Child Development in 2020 had formed a committee headed by Jaya Jaitly to examine the matter.
The committee submitted a report stating that the marriageable age for women should be increased from 18 to 21 years of age, in light of factors like reproductive health, education, etc.

8. Age of consent in India

Subject : History

Section : Modern India

India’s age of consent for sex is set at 18 years under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, regardless of gender.
In 1892, the marital rape and subsequent death of a 10-year-old girl, Phulmoni Dasi, caused the age of consent to be raised from 10 to 12 years.
In 1949, it was raised to 16 years after agitation from women’s groups about the adverse effect of early pregnancy.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, of 2013 increased the legally permissible age for sexual consent from 16 to 18.
Although the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, of 2013 initially sought to lower the age to 16, it was set at 18 due to political pressure from conservative parties.
Section 375 of the Act: A man is said to commit “rape” if he has sexual relations with a girl less than 18 years of age with or without her consent.
POSCO Act, 2012 disallows any such sexual relationships between people under 18 years of age and puts such crimes within marriages as an aggravated offence.
An exception under the act; According to Section 375, Sexual Intercourse by a man with his wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, is not rape.

History of child marriage

From Rig Vedic period to modern times, child marriage is practiced throughout the country with religious sanctions.
Hindu and Muslim Personal Laws do not explicitly prohibit child marriage.
The Rig Veda mentions garbhadhan — literally, attaining the wealth of the womb. It is the first of the 16 samskaras a Hindu is expected to perform.
The Greek traveller Megasthenes (350-290 BC) has written that he was told that the women of the Pandian kingdom in South India bear children at six years of age.
About seven centuries later, the Persian polymath, Al Biruni, wrote that child marriages were rampant in India.
The Muslim clergy too considered child marriages to be valid, though such children have the option to nullify their marriage.
The colonial state should be credited for reforming marriage laws. The Age of Consent Acts of 1861 and 1891 brought in reform in conjugal rights.

Age of consent 1861

The 1861 Act laid down 10 years as the minimum age for sexual intercourse. The Hindu intelligentsia opposed raising this age to 12 on the grounds that it violated norms related to garbhadhan.

Age of consent act 1891

The Age of Consent Act, 1891 was a legislation enacted in British India on 19 March 1891 which raised the age of consent for sexual intercourse for all girls, married or unmarried, from ten to twelve years in all jurisdictions, its violation subject to criminal prosecution as rape.
The sufferings of two young girls Rukhmabai and Phulmoni Dasi has led to this act.
Tilak’s newspapers Maratha and Kesari were at the forefront of this campaign.

Sarda Act

The child marriage Restraint Act set the minimum age of marriage for women and men at 16 and 18 years respectively in 1929.
This law is also known as the Sarda Act after its sponsor Harbilas Sarda, a judge and member of Arya Samaj.
The Sarda Act was amended in 1978 to prescribe the age of marriage for a girl and boy as 18 and 21 years respectively.

9. Bard, Google’s answer to ‘ChatGPT’

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Computers

Concept :

Google has finally decided to answer the challenge and threat posed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI and its AI chatbot,
The search giant confirmed it will soon start public testing for a new AI chatbot of its own called Bard, based on the company’s Language Model for Dialogue Application (LaMDA).

ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer)

Technically, ChatGPT can be categorised as a type of generative AI – a broad label that’s used to describe any type of artificial intelligence (AI) that can be used to create new text, images, video, audio, code or synthetic data.
Thus, ChatGPT is a complex machine learning model developed by OpenAI (a research firm founded by Elon Musk), that is able to carry out natural language generation (NLG) tasks with a very high level of accuracy.
It is built on a large language model (LLM – a type of deep neural network that uses billions of parameters and is trained with petabytes of data) called GPT-3 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3).
Tasks ChatGPT excels at include – providing answers to questions, completing a given text or a phrase, writing fiction and non-fiction content from prompts, producing humanlike chatbot responses, translating text from one language to another, etc.

What is Bard?

Bard is Google’s own conversational AI chatbot and is based on LaMDA. It draws on information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses.
In short, it will give in-depth, conversational and essay-style answers just like ChatGPT does right now.
A user will be able to ask Bard to explain new discoveries from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old, or learn more about the best strikers in football right now, and then get drills to build your skills.

Is Bard Better than ChatGPT?

Bard is built on Transformer technology – which is also the backbone of ChatGPT and other AI bots.
Transformer technology, pioneered by Google and made open-source in 2017, is a neural network architecture, which is capable of making predictions based on inputs.
Currently, Bard looks like a limited rollout and it is hard to say whether it can answer more questions than ChatGPT.
Google has also not made clear the amount of knowledge that Bard possesses. For instance, with ChatGPT, we know its knowledge is limited to events till 2021.

Why has Google Announced Bard Right Now?

It comes as Microsoft has invested $10 billion this year in OpenAI and is preparing to -announce an integration of ChatGPT into its Bing Search engine.
Offer ChatGPT to its enterprise customers as part of the Azure Cloud services.
Google might have invented the ‘Transformer’ technology, but it is now being seen as a latecomer to the AI revolution.
For Google, whose core business is search, this has resulted in a ‘code red’ at the company, calling in founders to review plans around AI.

Limitations of such AI Chatbots

They sometimes write plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers.
The models are often excessively verbose and overuse certain phrases.
While efforts have been made to make these models refuse inappropriate requests, it will sometimes respond to harmful instructions or exhibit biased behaviour.
Running these models requires significant computing power (ChatGPT is powered by Microsoft’s Azure Cloud services).
This explains why the service often runs into errors at times, because too many people are accessing it.

10. Surveillance balloon

Subject : International Relations

Section : Msc

Concept :

The United States shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon that had floated over American airspace for several days, triggering the latest diplomatic crisis amid already worsening relations between the world’s two biggest powers.

Purpose of Sending the Balloon:

China has for decades complained about US surveillance by ships and spy planes near its own territory, leading to occasional confrontations over the years. According to China, the balloon was for research but got off track.

The spy balloon:

Around a decade-and-a-half after the first ever hot air balloon took flight with humans, balloons were already being used for military purposes.
During the French Revolutionary Wars in the late 18th century, balloons were used to provide a bird’s eye view of the battlefield, with there being documented evidence of their use in the Battle of Fleurus in 1794.
Since then, balloons have been in use in all kinds of conflict, from the American Civil War to World War I.
For well over a century, before aircraft technology really took off during the Great War, balloons were the primary mode of big-picture reconnaissance, providing perspective on enemy positions and movements simply impossible to obtain from the ground.
During World War II, as technologies evolved and balloons could be pushed to higher altitudes, their use evolved as well.
For instance, the Japanese military tried to loft incendiary bombs into US territory using balloons designed to float in jet stream air currents.
After the war, the US military started exploring the use of high-altitude spy balloons, which led to a large-scale series of missions called Project Genet.
The project flew photographic balloons over Soviet bloc territory in the 1950s – a time before the sheer ubiquitousness of surveillance satellites we see today.
While their use has declined with the rise of unmanned drones and satellites, many countries still employ spy balloons.

How relevant are high-altitude balloons today?

While satellites and improved aeroplane and drone technologies have reduced the salience of high-altitude balloons in the military, they still occupy an important niche.
Unlike satellites which can cost millions of dollars to create, and require sophisticated technology to launch, high-altitude balloons are cheap and easy to launch and control.
While balloons cannot directly be steered, they can be roughly guided to a target area by changing altitudes to catch different wind currents
Moreover, unlike satellites which are at much higher altitudes and moving at incredible speeds, spy balloons have the advantage of being able to hover around at lower heights, thus providing better quality images as well as more time to gather intelligence in a particular area.

11. Sub saharan Africa is the new epitome of extremism

Subject : International Relations

Section: Msc

Concept :

The new global epicentre of violent Islamic extremism is sub-Saharan Africa where people are increasingly joining because of economic factors and less for religious ones, says a new report by the United Nation’s international development agency.
A significant increase of 92% of new recruits to extremist groups are joining for better livelihoods compared to the motivations of those interviewed in a previous report released in 2017, according to the Journey to Extremism in Africa: Pathways to Recruitment and Disengagement Report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The region of the African continent located south of the Sahara Desert is known as sub-Saharan Africa

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network that helps developing national and local capacities to achieve human development and the Sustainable Development Goals.
UNDP’s work is concentrated on three main focus areas: Sustainable development Democratic governance and peacebuilding Climate and disaster resilience.
In all its activities, UNDP promotes gender equality and the protection of human rights.

How is UNDP related to the UN?

UNDP, as we know it now, was established in 1965 by the General Assembly of the United Nations and has its headquarters in New York City.
UNDP participates in 66 “Delivering as One” initiatives which enable UN Country Teams to operate more coherently, effectively and efficiently, minimizing transaction costs, reducing duplication and scaling up common approaches and joint initiatives.

12. Bloomberg gender equality index

Subject : Governance

Section : Important Reports

Concept :

Bloomberg has selected 484 companies for the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI), from a fray of over 600, as recognition of the progress they have made in promoting gender inclusion and implementing diversity policies.
Nine Indian companies have made it to this Index.
The 600-plus participating companies had disclosed their gender-related data through what is called Gender Reporting Framework.

Gender-Equality Index

The Gender-Equality Index (GEI) is a modified market capitalization-weighted index that aims to track the performance of public companies committed to transparency in gender-data reporting.
By publicly releasing detailed, consistent and comparable gender-related data, the companies included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index are setting a new standard for data reporting.
The breadth of GEI member data is made available to the investment community on the Bloomberg Terminal.
It includes disclosure by more than 600 companies, across developing and developed markets, and with depth that far surpasses the total data points made available by other providers.

13. ‘Virginity Test’ on Accused Unconstitutional

Subject : Polity

Section : Constitution

Concept :

The Delhi high court ruled that running a ‘virginity test’ on a female accused or detainee is unconstitutional and inhuman, and a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.
Not only does such a test interfere with a woman’s bodily integrity, the court said, it can also have a longstanding psychological impact on the woman.

Virginity Test

The Virginity/ two-finger test, carried out by a medical practitioner, involves the examination of her vagina to check if she is habituated to sexual intercourse.
The practice is unscientific and does not provide any definite information. Moreover, such ‘information’ has no bearing on an allegation of rape.
A woman who has been sexually assaulted undergoes a medical examination for ascertaining her health and medical needs, collection of evidence, etc.
A handbook released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on dealing with sexual assault victims says, “There is no place for virginity (or ‘two-finger’) testing; it has no scientific validity.”

What the Government’s Guidelines say?

After the 2013 Justice Verma Committee report on amendments to criminal law for a faster trial, and enhanced punishment in sexual assault cases, the Union Health Ministry brought out detailed guidelines for the medical examination of victims of sexual assault in early 2014.
According to the guidelines ‘two-finger test’, must not be conducted for establishing rape/sexual violence.
The guidelines state that a rape victim’s consent (or her guardian’s, if she is minor/mentally disabled) is necessary for any medical examination. Even if the consent is not provided, the victim cannot be denied medical treatment.
However, these are guidelines and are not legally binding.

14. CAR T Cell therapy

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Biotechnology

Concept :

The three major forms of treatment for any cancer are surgery (removing the cancer), radiotherapy (delivering ionizing radiation to the tumour), and systemic therapy (administering medicines that act on the tumour).
Surgery and radiotherapy have been refined significantly over time whereas advances in systemic therapy have been unparalleled.
A new development on this front, currently holding the attention of many researchers worldwide, is the CAR T Cell therapy
Systemic therapy’s earliest form was chemotherapy; when administered, it preferentially acts on cancer cells because of the latter’s rapid, unregulated growth and poor healing mechanisms. Chemotherapeutic drugs have modest response rates and significant side effects as they affect numerous cell types in the body. The next stage in its evolution was targeted agents, also known as immunotherapy. Here the drugs bind to specific targets on the cancer or on the immune cells that help the tumour grow or spread. This method often has fewer side effects as the impact on nontumour cells is limited. However, it is effective only against tumours that express these targets.
Unlike chemotherapy or immunotherapy, which require mass-produced injectable or oral medication, CAR Tcell therapies use a patient’s own cells. They are modified in the laboratory to activate Tcells, a component of immune cells, to attack tumours. These modified cells are then infused back into the patient’s bloodstream after conditioning them to multiply more effectively. The cells are even more specific than targeted agents and directly activate the patient’s immune system against cancer, making the treatment more clinically effective. This is why they’re called ‘living drugs”

What is CAR T Cell Therapy?

Chimeric antigen receptor T cells are T cells that have been genetically engineered to produce an artificial T-cell receptor for use in immunotherapy. Chimeric antigen receptors are receptor proteins that have been engineered to give T cells the new ability to target a specific protein.

An 11-year-old has become the first patient to receive CAR-T therapy (immunotherapy) that uses the body’s own cells to fight cancer.
CAR-T is a personalized form of cancer treatment.

CAR-T involves removing immune cells and modifying them in a laboratory so they can recognize cancer cells.
Immunotherapy is treatment that uses your body’s own immune system to help fight cancer.
First, the patient has blood removed and the white blood cells are separated out, with the rest of the blood being returned to the patient.
A harmless virus is used to insert genes into T-cells, a special type of immune cell.
These genes cause the T-cells to add a hook on to their surface, known as a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR).
These engineered CAR-T cells – programmed to recognize and destroy the patient’s cancer cells – are multiplied in huge numbers and then infused back into the patient.

Where is it used?

As of today, CAR T cell therapy has been approved for leukemias (cancers arising from the cells that produce white blood cells) and lymphomas (arising from the lymphatic system).
These cancers occur through the unregulated reproduction of a single clone of cells, that is, following the cancerous transformation of a single type of cell, it produces millions of identical copies. As a result, the target for CAR T-cells is consistent and reliable.
CAR T cell therapy is also used among patients with cancers that have returned after an initial successful treatment or which haven’t responded to previous combinations of chemotherapy or immunotherapy. Its response rate is variable. In certain kinds of leukemias and lymphomas, the efficacy is as high as 90%, whereas in other types of cancers it is significantly lower. The potential side effects are also significant, associated with cytokine release syndrome (a widespread activation of the immune system and collateral damage to the body’s normal cells) and neurological symptoms (severe confusion).

Cellular therapy (CT)

It is the transplantation of human cells to replace or repair damaged tissue and/or cells. With new technologies, innovative products, and limitless imagination, many different types of cells may be used as part of a therapy or treatment for a variety of diseases and conditions.