Tag: gs paper 3

Synopsis: This article elucidates why patents cannot be granted to artificial intelligence (AI) programs. Introduction In April 2020, the South African patent office granted a patent to an artificial intelligence (AI) program called DABUS (‘Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience). DABUS used fractal geometry to come up with a better design for food… Continue reading The awkward grant of patents to artificial intelligence

Synopsis: Adjusted for land holding, the Punjab farmer is doing poorly, and the culprit is paddy. By shifting from rice to maize and diversifying to fruits and vegetables, farmers in Punjab and Haryana can earn more, while practicing sustainable farming. What are key findings of the latest Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) of agri households? As… Continue reading How Punjab can shine again with nutritional security and climate-friendly agriculture

Synopsis: The RCTs that have swept economics and won Nobel recognition remain rather unreliable in comparison with clinical trials. We should be sceptical about the policy conclusions of randomized control trials used in economics and social sciences. Introduction Randomized Clinical Trials have revolutionized medicine and led to many life-saving treatments, drugs and vaccines. But, we… Continue reading The perils of natural experiments and randomized controlled trials

Synopsis: Greening of the poles must be a top priority for the upcoming COP26 meeting Introduction Researchers at NASA, using 29 years of data from Landsat satellites, have observed extensive greening around Alaska and Canada, which were snow-covered lands. For the past several decades, the Arctic has been warming twice as quickly as the rest of… Continue reading COP 26: Greening of polar ice should top agenda; here’s why

Synopsis: Information sharing could reform our bureaucracy and raise efficiency in infrastructure creation through use of Gati Shakti plan. Introduction Gati Shakti besides being a master plan for infrastructure creation, is also the solution to the problem of information-sharing between ministries and government departments at the Centre. It is a software element in the government’s… Continue reading Gati Shakti can spur behavioural changes for superior governance

Synopsis: The increasing arms race has forced India to not just prioritize economic growth but keep pace on evolving technology in the defence sphere. Introduction Suddenly, the world finds itself at the beginning of a new military space race with China, the US and to a less extent Russia as the main participants. It has… Continue reading 2021: A hypersonic space odyssey that we must brace for

Synopsis: While low-productivity services will continue to employ the majority of the country’s workforce, there is no clear-cut policy path to improve the productivity of workers in these sectors. Introduction It is known that productivity is the key to economic prosperity. But the policy solutions needed to raise the productivity of service workers remains one… Continue reading India’s productivity challenge is especially steep in-service sectors

Synopsis: India’s demographic dividend may finally be realized through the digital dividend How COVID helped in India’s digital transformation? Though, Covid left indelible scars, but it propelled India to the top of the league of digitally connected nations. Compelled to adapt their lives and livelihoods to a 4×5” smartphone screen, the virus forced the entire… Continue reading Decoding The Unicorn Nation

Synopsis: The current state of infrastructure and how PM-Gati shakti will help in it. Introduction This fractionated style of policy-making and execution held back the economic development of India. The Prime Minister’s Gati Shakti plan is a step in changing the status of the progress of the nation by national Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity.… Continue reading What PM Gati Shakti plan means for the nation