27 Dec 2023

#GS2: – 01. Israel-Hamas War

The recent drone attacks on theMV Chem Pluto in the Arabian Sea and a few days ago on the MV Sai Baba in the Red Sea have been taken very seriously by the Indian government. The Navy has increased its surveillance of the seas. Whoever has carried out this attack, we will find them even from the bottom of the seas and strict action will be taken against them.
-Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

Indian Navy has strengthened maritime security, deploying warships and other hardware to keep ships safe. This is a defensive shield and should be seen as such.As the Gaza War rages and its spillover effects threaten trade routes, we must not get caught in a conflict that’s not of our making.Neutrality works. – Commentary in News Operation Prosperity Guardian is bringing together multiple countries to include the UK,Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain,to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity.
-US defence secretary Lloyd Austin
Key Terms/Issues : Operation Prosperity Guardian, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Houthis

#GS3: – 02. Steel Production in India

Demand for steel in India is tipped to grow by 8.6% in 2023 and7.7%in2024, according to Worldsteel.org, a global steel industry association. The growth is led by the construction sector which is driven by government infrastructure spending and private investment recovery. Investment in infra supports capital goods sector growth and demand is strong in automotive space.
-Commentary in news

#GS1: – 03. Weather Management

None of the weather prediction models anticipated the 90 cm rainfall witnessed in the Kayalpatnam municipality in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu last week. Prediction of weather in tropical regions is difficult because of dynamic changes it undergoes in comparison to weather in higher latitiudes. –Earth sciences secretary M. Ravichandran

When I use the word weather management, it is playing with nature. But if it is critical for survival of humanity, it can be used. The weather system is so sensitive if you want to tweak the flow of monsoon here, it may cause a desertification somewhere else.We must think in terms of Morality.
– Earthsciences Minister Kiren Rijiju
Key Terms/Issues : Weather Management

#GS3: – 04. New Advisory on Deepfakes

There is no separate regulation for deepfakes.The existing regulations already cover it under Rule 3(1)(b)(v) of IT Rules,2021. We are now seeking 100% enforcement by the platforms,and for platforms to be more proactive— including alignment of terms of use, and educating users of 12 no-go areas—which they should have done by now,but ave not. As a result,we are issuing an advi-sory to them.
-MoS MEITY Rajeev Chandrashekhar

Note : Rule 3(1)(b)(v) of the InformationTechnology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, state that intermediaries, including the likes ofMeta’s Instagram and WhatsApp, Google’s YouTube, and global and domestic tech firms,including Amazon, Microsoft, and Telegram, must for bidusers “to not host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store,update or share any information that deceives or misleads the addressee about the origin of message, or knowingly and intentionally communicates misinformation,which is patently false, and untrue or
misleading in nature.

Key Terms/Issues : Rule 3(1)(b)(v)

#GS3-: – 05. CAD (Current Account Deficit)

Following the expansion in the merchandise trade deficit in October, we expect the CAD for the ongoing quarter to widen appreciably, to around $18-20 billion. Nevertheless, we now foresee the FY24 CAD in a range of 1.5-1.6% of GDP,unless commodity prices chart a sharp rebound. -ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar

#GS3: – 06. Single License for Retailers : EoDB

Today retailers need 20-30 licenses to operate. These are issued by the central government, state government and local authorities. Since trade is a state subject, several retailer associations had requested a national portal to carry out the issuance of a single license that can be given to all traders. That’s still under consideration.
-Commentary in News