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Editorial
Recent advances in Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) have captured the imagination of the public, businesses and governments alike.
The Government of India has also, very recently, released a comprehensive report on the opportunities afforded by this current wave of AI.
Leaders of the IT industry in India are almost certain that this wave of AI will lead to fundamental changes in the skills landscape, and implicitly, in terms of underlying threats and dangers.
Concurrently, there is an exponential explosion of digital uncertainty. Few are able to fully comprehend the nature of the new threat, the likes of which have not been witnessed in past decades, if not centuries.
Few also realise the grave implications of what it means to have our lives and our economies run on what may be described as fertile digital topsoil. Even fewer realise the kind of intrinsic problems that result from this.
The BRI at 10, some hits, many misses (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that was convened in Beijing, China (October 17-18) has put the spotlight back on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature initiative.
Early debates in China reveal the intent behind the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Academic Xue Li likened the BRI to China’s Marshall Plan, stating that it was a gateway for China to transition from a regional power with global influence to a global power with comprehensive strength.
Academic Wang Yiwei argued that the BRI was an ascendant China’s bid to reboot globalisation and rectify its shortcomings.
A rising China also felt the need to develop new transport and trade arteries as alternatives, since rivals could put the squeeze on the Strait of Malacca — the jugular vein for China’s economy.
Opinion
The measure of the working woman (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 1, Social Issues)
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a parent working outside the home must have someone to take care of their child.
In India, family structures have historically often filled this need, with fathers working outside the home, and mothers providing child care and elder care.
However, this model is not conducive to India’s growing ambitions. If the country is to grow into a $5 trillion economy, women must be included.
There are two specific ways to get here: women’s work, often care work, must be appropriately valued, and women must be adequately supported to participate in economic activity outside the home.
All women work, but not all of them get paid. Economist Claudia Goldin’s 2023 Nobel Prize-winning work demonstrates this across American history.
India’s first national Time Use Survey released in 2020 by the National Statistical Office, finds that 81.2% of all women are engaged in unpaid domestic services, compared with 26.1% of men.
It finds that men spend 42 hours on average on activities within the production boundary, i.e. what is traditionally counted as economic activity, whereas women spend 19 hours.
However, women spend 10 times more time on household maintenance and care for children, the sick and the elderly — 34.6 hours versus 3.6 hours.
News
‘India will explore building large language models’ (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
India will set up a “high-powered committee” to explore the development of large language models, or LLMs, tools that harness artificial intelligence to create applications that can understand and process human language, the Union government’s Principal Scientific Adviser, Ajay Sood, said.
LLMs are a cornerstone technology underlying several pieces of ‘intelligent’ software and help make possible applications such as ChatGPT.
A high-powered committee is being set up to explore such LLMs and especially how this can be applied to Indian languages, speaking at Tech Surge, a summit jointly organised here by the venture capital firm Celesta Capital, the U.S.-India Business Council, and Quad Investors Network.
The office of the Principal Scientific Adviser had put out a draft National Deep Tech Start-up Policy for public comment on July 31.
The purpose of the policy is to “ensure India’s position in the global deep tech value chain”, in areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and Space technology.
India likely to sign deal with U.S. for 31 MQ-9B drones by February 2024 (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The deal for 31 MQ-9B Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with the U.S. is expected to be concluded by February 2024 and deliveries will begin from February 2027, three years from the signing of the contract.
The deal is on track and the Letter of Offer and Acceptance [LOA] is now awaited from the U.S. The contract is expected to be concluded by February 2024.
The UAV maker General Atomics (GA) is scheduled to establish a global maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility in India. But its location has not yet been finalised, the source said, adding that it could likely be Bengaluru.
In June, the Defence Ministry cleared the procurement of 31 MQ-9B UAVs from GA, including 15 Sea Guardians for the Navy and eight Sky Guardians each for the Army and the Air Force, at an estimated cost of $3,072 million through the U.S.
Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route. Following this, last month, just ahead of the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, the Ministry issued the Letter of Request to the U.S. government.
Based on the LoR, the U.S. government and the Ministry will finalise the LOA. Details of equipment and terms of the procurement will be negotiated and finalised in accordance with the FMS programme, the Ministry said earlier.
World
Israel to allow aid to move into Gaza from Egypt: Biden (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
U.S. President Joe Biden said that Israel had agreed to allow humanitarian assistance to begin flowing into Gaza from Egypt with the understanding it would be subject to inspections and that it should go to civilians and not Hamas militants.
In remarks from Tel Aviv where the President had gone to show support for Israel following the October 7 attack by Hamas that killed roughly 1,400 people, Mr. Biden cautioned the nation against all-consuming rage.
Israel cut off the flow of food, fuel and water in Gaza following the attack. Mediators have been struggling to break a deadlock over providing supplies to desperate civilians, aid groups and hospitals.
Mr. Biden said he had spoken with the Israeli Cabinet “to agree to the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance of civilians in Gaza”.
“Let me be clear,” Mr. Biden said, “if Hamas diverts or steals the assistance, they will have demonstrated once again that they have no concern for the welfare of the Palestinian people.”
He also said an additional $100 million in humanitarian assistance would be delivered to Gaza and the West Bank.
Business
Centre raises MSP for Rabi crops, farmers unhappy (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has increased the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all Rabi crops for the finanicial year 2024-25. The increase for wheat, the major Rabi crop, is ₹150 per quintal and the new price will be ₹2,275.
Farmers’ organisations have criticised the ‘meagre’ increase. The Centre procures wheat from about a dozen wheat-growing districts in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The two States are among those that will witness upcoming Assembly elections.
The highest increase in MSP compared with last year is for lentils (masur) at ₹425 per quintal (new price: ₹6,425 per quintal) followed by rapeseed and mustard at ₹200 per quintal (new MSP: ₹5,650 per quintal).
Farmers’ organisations said the MSP did not match the increase in input costs. “Fertilizers and diesel prices have increased,” said All India Kisan Saba leader from Rajasthan Amra Ram.
Science
How quantum algorithms solve problems that classical computers can’t (Page no. 20)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
We often hear that quantum computers efficiently solve problems that are very difficult to solve with a classical computer.
But even if the hardware is available to build a quantum computer, exploiting its quantum features requires us to write smart algorithms.
An algorithm is a sequence of logically connected mathematical steps that solve a problem. For example, an algorithm to add three numbers can have two steps: add the first two numbers in the first step and the result to the third number in the second step.
A more involved example of an algorithm is the search for the largest number in a finite list of numbers.
An algorithm can start by assuming that the first number on the list is the largest. Next, it can compare this number with the second number on the list.
If the second number is larger than or equal to the first number, the second number is now deemed to be the largest. Otherwise, the first number remains the largest at this stage.
The algorithm then moves to the third number on the list – and so on until it has finished comparing all the numbers on the list. The number that is the largest as of the final step will be the answer.