HAP to take AI governance global (GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
Why in news?
- The annual Group of Seven (G-7) Summit, hosted by Japan, took place in Hiroshima from May 19-21. Among other matters, the G-7 Hiroshima Leaders’ Communiqué initiated the Hiroshima AI Process (HAP), an effort by this bloc to determine a way forward to regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Details:
- The ministerial declaration of the G-7 Digital and Tech Ministers’ Meeting, discussed “responsible AI” and global AI governance, and reaffirmed commitment to promote human-centric and trustworthy AI based on the OECD AI Principles and to foster collaboration to maximise the benefits for all brought by AI technologies.
- Even as the G-7 countries are using such fora to deliberate AI regulation, they are acting on their own instead of waiting for the outcomes from the HAP. So while there is an accord to regulate AI, the discord will also continue.
What is the Hiroshima AI process?
- The communiqué accorded more importance to AI than the technology has ever received in such a forum even as G-7 leaders were engaged with other issues like the war in Ukraine, economic security, supply chain disruptions, and nuclear disarmament.
- It said that the G-7 is determined to work with others to “advance international discussions on inclusive AI governance and interoperability to achieve our common vision and goal of trustworthy AI, in line with our shared democratic value”.
- The HAP is likely to conclude by December 2023. The first meeting under this process was held on May 30. Per the communiqué, the process will be organised through a G-7 working group, although the exact details are not clear.
Why is the process notable?
- While the communiqué doesn’t indicate the expected outcomes from the HAP, there is enough in there to indicate what values and norms will guide it and from where it will derive its guiding principles, based on which it will govern AI.
- The communiqué as well as the ministerial declaration also say more than once that AI development and implementation must be aligned with values such as freedom, democracy, and human rights. Values need to be linked to principles that drive regulation.
- To this end, the communiqué also stresses fairness, accountability, transparency, and safety. It spoke of “the importance of procedures that advance transparency, openness, and fair processes” for developing responsible AI.
What does the process entail?
- An emphasis on freedom, democracy, and human rights, and mentions of “multi-stakeholder international organisations” and “multi-stakeholder processes” indicate that the HAP isn’t expected to address AI regulation from a state-centric perspective.
- Instead, it exists to account for the importance of involving multiple stakeholders in various processes and to ensure the latter are fair and transparent.
- The task before the HAP is really challenging considering the divergence among G-7 countries in, among other things, regulating risks arising out of applying AI.
- It can help these countries develop a common understanding on some key regulatory issues while ensuring that any disagreement doesn’t result in complete discord.
- For now, there are three ways in which the HAP can move forward —
- it can enable the G-7 countries to move towards a divergent regulation based on shared norms, principles and guiding values;
- it can become overwhelmed by the divergent views among the G-7 countries and fail to deliver any meaningful solution; or
- it can deliver a mixed outcome with some convergence on certain issues and at the same time a lack of common ground on many others.
Way Forward:
- The G7 communiqué states that “the common vision and goal of trustworthy AI may vary across G7 members.”
- The emphasis on working with others, including OECD countries and on developing an interoperable AI governance framework, suggests that while the HAP is a process established by the G-7, it still has to respond to the concerns of other country-groups as well as the people and bodies involved in developing international technical standards in AI.
- It is also possible that countries that aren’t part of the G-7 would want to influence the global governance of AI, and may launch a process of their own like the HAP.
- Overall, the establishment of the HAP makes one thing clear: AI governance has become a truly global issue that is likely to only become more contested in the future.
PLI Schemes contribute to increase in production, employment generation, and economic growth
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes have led to a significant increase in production, employment generation, economic growth and exports in the country.
PLI schemes:
- The PLI schemes as envisioned by the Prime Minister, with the objective of making India ‘AatmaNirbhar’ is built on the foundation of 14 sectors with an incentive outlay of Rs. 1.97 lakh crore (about US$ 26 billion) to strengthen their production capabilities and help create global champions.
Key achievements:
- Due to PLI Schemes, there was a significant increase of 76% in FDI in the Manufacturing sector in FY 2021-22 (USD 21.34 billion) compared to previous FY 2020-21 (USD 12.09 billion).
- Sectors for which PLI schemes exist and have seen an increase in FDI inflows from FY 2021-22 to FY 2022-23 are Drugs and Pharmaceuticals (+46%), Food Processing Industries (+26%) and Medical Appliances (+91%).
- PLI Schemes have transformed India’s exports basket from traditional commodities to high value- added products such as electronics & telecommunication goods, processed food products etc.
- PLI Scheme has led to major smartphone companies shifting its suppliers to India, e.g., Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron. As a result, top high-end phones are being manufactured in India.
- It has also resulted in a 20-fold increase in women employment and localization in IT Hardware such as Battery & Laptops.
- The value addition in mobile manufacturing in India is to the tune of 20%. India have been able to increase the value addition in mobile manufacturing to 20% within a period of 3 years whereas countries like Vietnam achieved 18% value addition over 15 years and China achieved 49% value addition in over 25 years. Seen in this perspective, it is a big achievement.
LSEM:
- PLI Scheme for Large-Scale Electronics Manufacturing (LSEM), along with existing Phased Manufacturing Program (PMP) has led to increased value addition in the electronics sector and in smartphone manufacturing, 23% and 20% respectively, from negligible in 2014-15.
- Of the USD 101 Billion total electronics production in FY 2022-23, smartphones constitute USD 44 Billion including USD 11.1 Billion as exports.
Telecom sector:
- Import substitution of 60% has been achieved in the Telecom sector and India has become almost self–reliant in Antennae, GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network) & CPE (Customer Premises Equipment). Drones sector has seen a 7 times jump in turnover due to the PLI Scheme which consists of all MSME Startups.
Food Processing:
- Under the PLI Scheme for Food Processing, sourcing of raw materials from India has seen significant increase which has positively impacted income of Indian farmers and MSMEs.
Pharma Sector:
- Due to the PLI Scheme, there has been a significant reduction in imports of raw materials in the Pharma sector.
- Unique intermediate materials and bulk drugs are being manufactured in India including Penicillin-G, and transfer of technology has happened in manufacturing of Medical Devices such as (CT scan, MRI etc.).
Indian Drugs Controller approves first indigenously developed animal-derived tissue engineering scaffold
(GS Paper 2, Health)
Why in news?
- The first indigenously developed tissue engineering scaffold from mammalian organs, an animal-derived Class D Biomedical Device that can rapidly heal skin wounds at low-cost with minimum scarring, has received approval from the Indian Drugs Controller.
Indigenous technology:
- With this, the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) became the first institution in the country to develop Class D medical devices that satisfy all statutory requirements of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, Government of India.
- The concept of using animal-derived materials as advanced wound care products is not new. However, indigenous technology was so far not available for fabricating quality products that satisfy the requirements of the Drugs Controller General. Therefore, such products were imported making them expensive.
How it was prepared?
- Researchers decellularised pig gall bladder and recovered extracellular matrix.
- Membrane forms of the scaffold, identified as Cholederm, healed different types of skin wounds including burn and diabetic wounds in rat, rabbit, or dog faster than similar products currently available in the market with minimal scarring as proved by several in-depth laboratory investigations focusing Type I and Type III collagen.
- They showed that the graft-assisted healing was regulated by anti-inflammatory (pro-regenerative) M2 type of macrophages. Indeed, the scaffold modulated or mitigated the scarring reactions in subcutaneous, skeletal muscle, and cardiac tissues.
Advantages:
- The scaffold has the ability to mitigate fibrotic scarring in rats suffering an experimental myocardial infarction.
- It is expected that with the introduction of Cholederm to the Indian market, the treatment cost can be reduced from Rs 10,000/- to Rs 2,000/- making it more affordable to the common man.
- Moreover, the technology for recovering extracellular matrix from the gall bladder is not available to others and it gives a fair chance for competition in the international market.
- In addition, the above findings made gall bladder of pigs, normally a slaughterhouse waste without any monetary value, a highly value-added raw material for biopharmaceutical industry thereby creating an additional income-generating opportunity for pig farmers.
What’s next?
- However, the application of membrane forms of the scaffold for treating cardiac injury was cumbersome.
- Therefore, the team is developing injectable gel formulations of the scaffold that permits transvenous on-site delivery of the scaffold and for surface modification of polymeric medical devices.
