9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – February 20th, 2023

Mains Oriented Articles

GS PAPER - 1

Judgement reserved – Too early to celebrate the lithium find

Source: The post is based on the article “Judgement reserved – Too early to celebrate the lithium find” published in Business Standard on 20th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS 1 – Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent).

Relevance: About Lithium reserves.

News: Recently, a vast deposit of lithium ores has been found in Jammu´s Reasi district.

What is Lithium?

Read here: Facts about Lithium

About the Lithium findings

Read more: Geological Survey of India Finds Lithium and Gold Deposits

What are the applications of Lithium?

Read here: Uses of Lithium

What are the issues with extracting the identified Lithium resources?

If the estimates that the Reasi deposits of 5.9 million tonnes of lithium are close to being accurate, then India possesses the largest reserves after Bolivia. However, a) the accurate estimates of proven quantity could eventually be significantly lower than the current inferred amount.

b) The extraction process could take a decade or more and require substantial investment. For instance, in 2005, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) announced that it had discovered $100 billion worth of natural gas in the offshore Krishna Godavari Basin. It was hailed as a historic moment and large investments poured in over the next 17 years. But GPSC still did not achieve commercial production.

c) India should not only have to extract and refine lithium but also set up a value chain for battery production. This process of extraction, refining, and battery production will take a fair amount of investment and time.

d) The project will create a serious environmental impact and possibly require the shifting of local populations since the area is geologically “young” and seismically unstable.

e) Reasi is close to the Line of Control, which means there could be geopolitical complications.

What should be done?

The government will have to work out a comprehensive policy if the reserves are proven.

Work on sodium-ion batteries: India has always been aware that it is lacking in lithium reserves. Hence, India has invested in researching alternative storage technologies involving sodium-ion batteries. Sodium is far more abundantly available than lithium it can be extracted from seawater. There has been promising research into sodium-ion battery technologies in the laboratories of the IITs. Indian should continue and scale up it to be commercially available.

The lithium discovery is worth investigating, but that should not hurt research on alternative storage technologies.

GS PAPER - 2

On sealed cover jurisprudence

Source: The post is based on the article “On sealed cover jurisprudence” published in “The Hindu” on 18th February 2023. 

Syllabus: GS2- Judiciary 

Relevance: Issues related to the transparent process of justice 

News: The Chief Justice of India firmly refused the ‘suggestions’ offered by the government in a sealed cover on the formation of a proposed committee to enquire into the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group. 

What are the issues related to the practice of routine handing over of sealed covers by the government? 

It erodes public confidence in the ‘open court’ principle of justice administration.  

The petitioners are unable to defend themselves. They do not know what they are supposed to defend against.  

Passing on materials in a sealed cover to the court compels judges to accept the state’s version, that too, in cases in which the government’s narrative is under challenge. 

What are the historical facts related to this practice? 

The origins of sealed cover jurisprudence can be traced to service or administrative cases. Official service records and promotion assessments of individual personnel were received in a sealed cover in order to avoid harm to the reputation of officers.  

The court continues to receive confidential documents in sexual assault cases to protect the identity of survivors. However, recently there has been a rise in the incidence of the government providing documents in a sealed cover. 

Sealed cover documents have been received by the apex court in cases such as the Rafale jets’ purchase deal, the Assam National Register of Citizens case, the Ayodhya title dispute, the Gujarat Police ‘fake’ encounter case, the electoral bonds case, and Bhima Koregaon case.  

What are the rules associated with this practice? 

Supreme Court Rules, 2013 provides that the Chief Justice can direct any document to be kept confidential in a sealed cover if publication of the records is “considered to be not in the interest of the public”.  

Section 123 of the Evidence Act of 1872 provides that the government should give a prior permission to a person who wants to give evidence “derived from unpublished official records relating to any affairs of state”. 

How the Supreme Court is now witnessing a turnaround? 

The SC, in the Media One telecast ban case, observed that the government should explain the exceptional circumstances to keep documents secret from the other party. The court has made it clear that sealed covers could be used only in a “small exception” of cases. 

In the S.P. Velumani case, 2022; the Supreme Court criticised the Madras High Court’s decision to permit a report to remain “shrouded in a sealed cover” when the State had not even claimed any specific privilege.  

The court admonished the Bihar government for attempting to give information in a sealed cover in the Muzaffarpur shelter case. 

In the Pegasus case judgement, SC underscored that the government must prove the facts that the information sought would affect national security concerns. The state cannot get a free pass every time the issue of ‘national security’ is raised.  

Read More: The Issue of Sealed Cover Jurisprudence – Explained, pointwise

The curious case of the disqualification of a politician

Source: The post is based on the article “The curious case of the disqualification of a politician” published in The Hindu on 20th February 2023. 

Syllabus: GS2- Parliament and state legislature 

Relevance: Issues related to disqualification of the legislative member. 

News: The Kerala High Court suspended the verdict passed by the District and Sessions Court in which the then-sitting MP of Lakshadweep was sentenced to 10 years in jail.  

What is the issue? 

A sitting MP of Lakshadweep was convicted by the Kavaratti sessions court on January 11.  The Lok Sabha announced that he was disqualified as an MP with effect from the date of conviction. The Election Commission of India fixed a date for a by-election to that constituency.  

However, the Kerala High Court stayed his conviction and sentence. The High Court said that the consequence of not suspending the conviction is drastic not just for the particular person but also for the nation. The MP then challenged the ECI’s announcement in the SC of India.  

What is the question before SC? 

It is related to whether the person automatically will resume his membership of the Lok Sabha.  

The answer lies in deciding whether the cancellation of disqualification takes effect when the High Court suspended the conviction or from the date of conviction and disqualification.  

What are constitutional and legal provisions regarding the disqualification of a sitting member of Parliament? 

Article 102 of the Constitution contains provisions for disqualification. It specifies that a person shall be disqualified from contesting elections and being a Member of Parliament under certain conditions.  

These include holding an office of profit, being of unsound mind or insolvent, or not being a citizen of India.  

It also authorises Parliament to make law determining conditions of disqualifications. There are analogous provisions for members of state legislatures. 

The Representation of the People Act, 1951 provides that a person will be disqualified if convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more. The person is disqualified for a period of imprisonment and a further six years.  

There is an exception for sitting members. They have been provided a period of three months from the date of conviction to appeal. The disqualification will not be applicable until the appeal is decided.  

What are the judgements of higher courts on disqualification? 

The differential treatment of candidates for elections and sitting members were challenged under Article 14. The Supreme Court in K. Prabhakaran vs P. Jayarajan case decided that the consequences of disqualifying a contestant and a sitting member were different. 

In the case of sitting members, the strength of the party in the legislature would change. It could have an adverse impact if a government had a thin majority. It would also trigger a by-election. Therefore, it was reasonable to treat the two categories differently.  

It stated that disqualification would be removed with retrospective effect as this would require the cancellation of election results. Therefore, the removal of disqualification would be prospective and for future elections. 

Supreme Court in Lily Thomas vs Union of India case, 2013 stated that Article 102 empowers Parliament to make law regarding the disqualification of a person. If Parliament could specify conditions for disqualification, those conditions would apply equally to candidates and sitting members. 

If a Member of Parliament was disqualified under Article 102, his seat shall become vacant. Therefore, the disqualification will be automatic and have immediate effect. 

All That India Can Do To Make Cancer A Less Dismal State

Source: The post is based on the article “All That India Can Do To Make Cancer A Less Dismal State” published in The Times of India on 20th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS 2 – Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health.

Relevance: About cancer in India.

News: Recently, World Cancer Day was celebrated.

About cancer in India

The incidence of all cancers is estimated to increase to 15.7 lahks by 2025. The incidence of cancer of the uterine cervix has reportedly dropped over the last 50 years from 45 to 10 per 1,00,000 population, and the HPV vaccine will likely to reduce it further. Breast cancer continues to rise in urban centres.

What are the challenges in reducing cancer in India?

-India made little progress to detect cancer early enough to reduce death rates.

-Because of high levels of pollution, India is going to witness a significant rise in rates of lung cancer in the future among non-smokers too.

-People who live in villages have much more advanced stages of cancer than their urban counterparts.

-There is also a lack of awareness and widespread use of carcinogenic products like tobacco in India.

-Cancer generally presents itself in an older age group. As human life spans increase the risk of getting cancer also rises. Older adults also have additional problems associated with ageing.

What are the steps undertaken to detect cancer in India?

Access to early detection facilities and affordable treatments have an important role in reducing cancer mortality.

The government is providing that by making primary health centres more responsive and taking attempts through Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. This will shorten the time lag between diagnoses and treatment.

What should be done to reduce cancer in India?

Compulsory Palliative care: Only an estimated 1 in 10 people who need palliative care worldwide are receiving it. In India, it is estimated that less than 2% of people with serious and chronic conditions availing palliative relief care. So, palliative care must be made part of India’s healthcare agenda and should be available to all.

Focus on preventive health: For example, tobacco is implicated in one-third of India’s cancers. Punitive measures and higher taxation of tobacco products as well as bans should be imposed along with strict and effective enforcement for raising awareness and tackling cultural factors.

Focus on technological solutions: Such as immunotherapy, CAR-T cell therapy and other cutting-edge treatments and technological advances.

India should work on preventing cancer, catching it early and ensuring the quality of life for those who have it.

Changes in organ transplant rules: A new lease of life

Source: The post is based on the article “Changes in organ transplant rules: A new lease of life published in Indian Express on 20th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS 2 – Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health.

Relevance: About the revised guidelines for organ donation.

News: The Union Health Ministry has recently revised several guidelines related to organ donation.

What is Organ Donation?

Must read: Organ Donation in India

India’s organ transfer law recognises donations by the patient’s close relatives — parents, spouses and siblings. In case, a near relative is medically incompatible with the recipient, the pair is permitted a swap transplant with another related unmatched pair.

What are the revised guidelines for organ donation?

Read here: Now, no age bar to register for cadaver organ transplants

What are the benefits of the revised guidelines for organ donation?

Benefits of removing the upper age limit for registration: The pool of organ donors for a large section of critically ill people above 65 will be wider. Senior citizens in the age group above 65 can now register to receive donations from live donors.

Benefits of removing domicile-related restrictions: Earlier, some states either registered recipients who lived there or accorded priority to them in allocating organs. Now the new guidelines will make organs accessible for timely transplants.

Increase organ transplantation: India conducts the third-highest number of transplants in the world every year. But only 4% of the patients who require a liver, heart or kidney transplant manage to get one.

The new guidelines will increase organ transplantation percentages in India.

What are the issues with organ donation in India?

Problem with organ shortage: It is a complex problem faced by policy planners from not only India but also from nations whose healthcare systems are far better equipped than India’s.

The issue of the black market in organ donation: The majority of organ donations in the country are not by the close kin of patients. This highlights the black market which lures the desperately poor to sell their organs.

An issue with the screening committee: Donors have to convince a screening committee of their altruistic motives. But suggestions to make the proceedings of the committees more transparent have been ignored by authorities.

What should be done to address issues in organ donation in India?

India’s growing burden of lifestyle diseases might increase demand for the pool of organs. Hence, India should increase the pool of organs along with regulatory creativity without compromising on ethical imperatives.

Introduce an opt-out system: It is adopted in some western countries. Under this, all citizens will be donors unless they “opt out”. But for introducing such a system in India, the government should improve awareness of organ donation.

GS PAPER - 3

India as a developed country: Developed by 2047? Yes

Source: The post is based on the article “Developed by 2047? Yes: If India’s per capita income in constant PPP dollars grows 4.1% annually, a very realistic prospect, it will be in the advanced economies club in a quarter of a century” published in The Times of India on 20thFebruary 2023. 

Syllabus: GS3- India economy and growth 

Relevance: Future prospects of Indian economy 

News: PM Modi, in his 2022 Independence Day speech, announced the goal for India in 2047. It will get the status of a developed country.  

What is the per capita income level in India? 

It measures the average income earned per person in a given area in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area’s total income by its total population. 

It is useful in evaluating people’s affordability and purchasing power. Per capita income indicates whether certain commodities and facilities are out of reach by average people in terms of financial aspects. 

India’s per capita income India’s per capita net national income or NNI was around 150 thousand rupees in the financial year 2022. In contrast, the gross national income at constant prices stood at over 146 trillion rupees. 

What are ways that can help India to improve its per capita income? 

-Increasing income for farmers. 

-Through government expenditure and investment in infrastructure.  

-Urbanizing India’s rural populations. 

-Becoming competitive in high-potential sectors. 

Can India get the status of a Developed nation by 2047? 

India’s start-up ecosystem is the third largest in the world after the US and China. Several prominent start-ups such as Ola, BYJU’S, Zerodha, Cred, Razorpay, and more have their head offices in the city which is often called the ‘Silicon Valley of India.’  

Innovation will be key in transforming India’s economy. Its progress in the Global Innovation Index 2022 from the 81st spot in 2015 to the 40th now is a good indicator of the road ahead. 

What should be India’s focus areas going forward? 

As per ‘UN State of World Population Report 2022’ in 2023 India will dethrone China, as the world’s most populous country. 

A hungry nation cannot be a developed country. As per the latest Global Hunger Index (2022) is ranked 107th among 121 countries.  

As per the World Inequality Report 2022, India is among the most-inequitable countries globally. It has the bottom half of the population earning Rs 53,610, but the top 10 percent earning 20 times at Rs 11,66,520.

land degradation: Saving the land for better use

Source: The post is based on the article “Saving the land for better use” published in Business Standard on 20th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS 3 – Environment and Bio-diversity Conservation.

Relevance: About land degradation in India.

News: “Arresting land degradation” was included among the top priorities by the G20 Working Group on Environment and Climate Sustainability. In India, the economic loss due to land degradation and changes in land use patterns was estimated in 2014-15 at Rs 3.17 trillion, equivalent to 2.5% of that year’s gross domestic product.

What is the present state of land degradation in India?

Land degradation in States: Rajasthan is the most land degradation-prone state. This is followed by Maharashtra and Gujarat. No state is, actually, immune to land deterioration due to some factor or the other. The most rapid deterioration in land quality is in the biodiversity-rich and ecologically sensitive north-eastern region.

Low per-capita availability of land: Arresting land degradation is highly relevant for India as it has to support 18% of the world’s population on only 2.4% of the land.

The per capita availability of arable land has shrunk from 0.48 hectares in 1950 to merely 0.16 hectares now. This is much lower than the global average of 0.29 hectares.

Reduction in land quality: A sizeable segment of India’s land has already lost part of its productivity and carrying capacity due to mismanagement and indiscriminate anthropogenic activity. Thus denoting ill for the livelihood of a large number of farmers and forest-dwellers.

Read more: Despite PM Modi’s assurance, land degradation, desertification increasing

What are the major reasons for land degradation in India?

The major reasons are a) deforestation; b) wind and water erosion; c) imprudent alteration of land use; d) excessive pressure on land beyond its carrying capacity; and e) flawed farm practices such as imbalanced use of chemical fertilisers; inadequate application of organic manures; indiscriminate tillage; and mismanagement of many other kinds, f) India does not have a precise data on the amount of degraded land. For instance, the data on National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, and the Space Application Centre (SAC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation vary vastly.

Read more: Land degradation in India hurts farmers and forest dwellers the most

How India has reclaimed the degraded land?

India is among the 123 countries that have committed themselves to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030.

According to a recent report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, India has restored around 9.8 mha of degraded land between 2011 and 2018 — an average rate of reclamation of around 1.4 mha a year.

What should be done further to reclaim the degraded land?

The benefits of land restoration can be as high as 10 times the cost of reclamation and ill effects of land degradation, ranging from the drop in crop yields to the out-migration of the population. Hence, India should take steps a) to safeguard the physical, chemical, and biological health of the existing normal land, b) to invest in land improvement, and c) To evolve and meticulously enforce judicious land use policy based on the capability classification of land.

Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence): Benefits and Challenges – Explained, pointwise

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Introduction

Since its release, ChatGPT has received a lot of attention. While, the users are marvelling at its ‘human-like’ responses, technology experts are debating the potential applications and concerns associated with Generative AI (Artificial IntellIgence). Generative AI has the potential to revolutionise almost every field of human activity. However, the possibility of misuse of the technology and loss of skilled and semi-skilled jobs has prompted calls for more cautious approach in the development of the Generative AI.

What is Generative AI?

Generative AI uses Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithms to enable machines to generate new content (machine generated). Systems use previously created content, such as text, audio, video, images, and code. The term ‘Generative’ refers to the ability of the models to learn how to create new data rather than simply recognising it. For example, a generative model may learn how to generate images that resemble faces given a set of parameters (such as the eyes, hair, or skin colour etc.). The content (text, image etc.) generated by AI is so ‘authentic’, that it is difficult to distinguish whether the content has been generated by human or computer.

Source: WEF. The above image has been created by Generative Artificial Intelligence developed by Midjourney Labs. The text prompt to generate the image was ‘A technical illustration of a woman sitting behind a desktop computer on a long table, isometric view, 3D rendering, realistic…’

What are the applications of Generative AI?

The applications of Generative AI are wide and still evolving.

Motion Picture Industry: Applications of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the movie industry is wide. It can utilized to alter the background/landscape according to the need (rather than wait for required conditions to exist e.g., a movie scene requiring cloudy weather can be shot under any weather conditions, and the background can be altered later on using AI). Images or videos of Actors at various ages are also possible with Generative AI technology. By using face synthesis and voice cloning, artist’s/actor’s original voice can be matched with a lip-sync. This will also help in archiving artefacts after restoration for future references.

Search Engine Services: Generative Artificial Intelligence has the capability to take search engine services to the next level, e.g., Text to Image translation may be utilized to provide search results. It can also be used to produce realistic photographs from textual descriptions of objects like birds and flowers.

Source: WEF. Images created by Midjourney through Generative Artificial Intelligence using Text Prompt.

Security Services: Generative Artificial Intelligence can create front-on photos from photos taken at different angles and vice versa for face verification or face identification systems. Such systems can be deployed at airports, international border check-points etc.

Healthcare: Semantic-Image-to-Photo Translation can convert inputs that are semantic images or sketches to photo-realistic images e.g., if X-ray or any CT scan images can be converted to real images, diagnosis can be much more accurate.

Advertising: Generative AI can create new advertisements based on existing ones, making it easier for companies to reach new audiences.

Location Services: This involves converting satellite images to map views. This can be a huge step towards venturing into unexplored geographic locations.

The possible applications of Generative AI are still being explored and can expand considerably as the technology evolves further. It can expand to fields like education, content creation, banking among others.

What are the benefits of Generative AI?

Increased Efficiency: Generative Artificial Intelligence can be used to automate tasks that would otherwise require manual labor. This can help businesses save time and money, as well as increase efficiency e.g., it can be used to generate images and videos quickly and accurately, which can be used in marketing campaigns or other projects.

Improved Quality: Generative Artificial Intelligence can help improve the quality of content generated. It can be used to create high-quality images and videos that are more visually appealing than those created manually. Additionally, it can be used to generate text that is more accurate and relevant than text created by humans.

Faster Results: Generative Artificial Intelligence can help businesses get results faster than they would with manual labor. It can create images and videos in a fraction of the time it would take a human to do the same task. This can help businesses get their projects done at a much faster rate.

Cost Savings: By automating tasks, businesses can reduce their labor costs and save money. Additionally, it can help businesses reduce costs associated with creating content, such as images and videos.

Improved Decision Making: By using Generative AI, businesses can generate data that can be used to make better decisions e.g., it can be used to generate data that can be used to make decisions about marketing campaigns or product development. Applications in the medical field can help in better diagnosis.

Increased Creativity: Businesses can generate new ideas and concepts that can be used to create new products or services.

Improved Customer Experience: Businesses can generate content that is more accurate and relevant to their customers. This can help businesses create a better customer experience and increase customer satisfaction.

What are the concerns associated with Generative AI?

Accuracy: Despite the advancements, the Generative AI technology is not fool proof and produce erroneous content. The Machine Learning Algorithms depend on the quality of the input data. Erroneous or inaccurate data can generate inaccurate results.

Increase Biases: Generative Artificial Intelligence systems can perpetuate and amplify existing biases. If the models are trained on biased, non-inclusive data, they will generate biased outputs, such as offensive or discriminatory language, demeaning and degrading imagery, and prejudicial content. A rights-group in the US pointed out the example of an AI-based generative imagery programme showing images of only white men for the prompt ‘CEO’.

Malicious Purposes: Generative AI systems can create content for malicious purposes, such as deepfakes, disinformation, and propaganda. It can also generate offensive or inappropriate content. Nefarious actors may use AI-generated media to manipulate people and influence public opinion. It can be misused by enemy States, or non-State actors to destabilise domestic peace by spreading misinformation.

Read More: Take a Step to Regulate Deepfakes, Threat of Deepfakes in India

Low Quality Output: It may also produce low-quality and less accurate information, specifically in the context of complex engineering and medical diagnosis.

Concern over Data Privacy: Data privacy issues can arise from using generative AI in different industries, such as healthcare, since it involves collecting private information about individuals.

Limitations in Creativity: AI uses past data as a template for future work. It means that the output produced by Generative AI is usually based on something that has already happened rather than anything genuinely creative. In short, AI systems lack creativity, originality and human ingenuity. AI Systems cannot generate new ideas by themselves, they can only make associations based on the data fed into them by humans.

Issues Related to Copyright: It can be challenging to determine who is responsible for the content generated by a Generative AI system. The acquisition and consent model around the training data and intellectual property issues make it difficult to hold anyone accountable for any harm resulting from its use. In addition, there are concerns related to use of copyrighted content to train AI systems. The work derived from such content can have copyright implications. Getty Images has sued Stable Diffusion in the London High Court, accusing them of using its images illegally.

Risk of Unemployment: Although it is too early to make certain judgements, there is a risk that generative AI could contribute to unemployment in certain fields. This could happen if generative AI automates tasks or processes previously performed by humans, leading to the displacement of human workers.

Environmental Concerns: AI systems require a lot of computing power. This has implications for environments, in terms of energy consumed in operating AI systems. An analyst pointed out that training a transformer model just once with 213 million parameters can emit carbon emissions equivalent to 125 air-flights between New York and Beijing. GPT3 has 175 billion parameters, so its emissions would have been much larger.

What should be done going ahead?

First, To address bias and fairness, researchers can use techniques such as de-biasing and fair representation learning, which can help to remove biases present in the training data.

Second, Researchers can also use techniques such as counterfactual data generation, which can help to generate more diverse and representative training

Third, There is need to add rigour and responsibility to developing AI technology, develop and enforce ethical guidelines, conduct regular audits for fairness, identify and address biases, and protect privacy and security.

Fourth, There is need to add adequate policy, regulation, awareness, and education guardrails to develop and use Generative AI services ethically and responsibly. China has proposed a policy for the same. Some measures include requirement for the users of Generative AI to ensure that any doctored content using the technology is explicitly labelled and can be traced back to its source. The regulation also mandates people using the technology to edit someone’s image or voice, to notify and take the consent of the person in question.

Fifth, Intellectual property law must find a way to protect artists from copies that erode the value of their original work, but at the same time encourage them to continue to be inspired by others. The US Copyright Office has already declared that AI generated art is not entitled to intellectual property protection as it lacks the ‘nexus between the human mind and creative expression’, which is necessary to invoke copyright protection.

Conclusion

The Generative AI is a revolutionary technological development. However, as is the case with every new technology, it has several associated concerns. A pragmatic approach is necessary that can minimize the negative impacts of technology. A cooperation at a global level will be required to establish the norms and standards, as well as checking misuse of the technology that can transcend national boundaries.

Syllabus: GS III, Awareness in the fields of IT and Computers

Source: Mint, Mint, The Hindu, WEF

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