Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Pmfias Ca 2023 11 05 06
Pmfias Ca 2023 11 05 06
Pmfias Ca 2023 11 05 06
Table of Contents
{GS1 – Geo – PG – Climatology} El Nino Drying Out the Southern Hemisphere .............................. 2
How El Nino is Causing a Decline in Water Availability in the Southern Hemisphere ................................. 2
Global Impact of Decline in Water Availability in the Southern Hemisphere .................................................. 3
{GS3 – S&T – AI} World’s First Artificial Intelligence Safety Summit .............................................. 16
The Bletchley Park Declaration: Outcome of the AI Safety Summit .................................................................. 16
Frontier AI ................................................................................................................................................................................ 16
Threats from Frontier AI ..................................................................................................................................................... 17
India’s Stand on the AI Safety Summit ......................................................................................................................... 17
Context (TH | DTE): El Nino is causing a decline in water availability in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Water availability is the net difference between rainfall on land and water lost to the atmosphere
through evaporation and plant transpiration.
Context (TH | TH): Five Karnataka villages came under surveillance after the Zika virus outbreak.
During Pregnancy
Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause:
Infants to be born with microcephaly and other congenital malformations
Preterm birth and miscarriage
Microcephaly is a neurological condition where a baby has a significantly smaller head than usual
for their age and sex.
In 2016, WHO declared Zika-related microcephaly a Public Health Emergency of International Con-
cern (PHEIC), which ended in the same year.
Context (IE | TH): Bhutan’s fourth King landed in Delhi to meet PM Narendra Modi post agree-
ment on delimitation process with China.
• He discussed connectivity initiatives including the first India Bhutan rail link, a 57km line connecting
Kokrajhar and Gelephu, where Bhutan plans to build an international airport.
China-Bhutan-India Relations
Border Disputes
• China-Bhutan: Unresolved border disputes over several areas in the western and northern sectors of
their boundary.
China claims about 12% of Bhutan’s territory, including the strategic Doklam plateau, which is
also claimed by Bhutan and supported by India.
• India-China: A long-standing border dispute along their Himalayan frontier, especially in the eastern
sector of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as part of Tibet.
• India-Bhutan: Mostly peaceful, resolved and open border except few small areas.
Strategic Interests
• India-China: Both are competing for influence and leverage in the region, with Bhutan being a key
buffer state between them.
• India-Bhutan: India has signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation, India also provides econom-
ic and military assistance to Bhutan, as well as access to its markets and ports.
• China-Bhutan: China has been trying to attract Bhutan with offers of diplomatic recognition, trade
and investment, and border settlement.
Economic Cooperation
• India-Bhutan: India is Bhutan’s largest trading partner as well as largest development partner of
Bhutan, accounting for about 80% of its exports and imports.
• China-Bhutan: The trade between these two countries have been increasing in recent years, with
China becoming Bhutan’s second-largest trading partner in 2018.
China and Bhutan have also explored the possibility of opening up tourism links, which could
boost Bhutan’s economy.
Way Forward
• Deepening Economic Cooperation: Exploring opportunities for collaboration in sectors such as in-
frastructure, energy, tourism, agriculture, and information technology.
• Strengthening Strategic Cooperation: By collaborating on security issues, including counterterror-
ism, border management, and intelligence sharing.
• Regional Cooperation: Collaborate closely on regional forums such as the SAARC and BIMSTEC.
Context (IE): Opposition candidate Mohamed Mizzu recently won the Presidential election in Mal-
dives.
• Considering his ‘India Out’ Stance, let’s take a re-look at the events of November 3, 1988, when Indi-
an troops intervened to thwart a coup attempt in the island nation.
Operation Cactus
• "Operation Cactus" was the Indian military operation conducted in 1988 in the Maldives in re-
sponse to a coup attempt that threatened the government of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
India’s Intervention
• Within hours of the request by the Maldivian President, the Indian govt, led by PM Rajiv Gandhi, de-
cided to intervene.
• The Indian Armed Forces, primarily the Indian Army and Air Force, launched a quick and effective in-
tervention. This operation was codenamed 'Operation Cactus'.
• Indian paratroopers were airlifted from Agra and landed at Hulhule airport near the Maldivian capi-
tal of Malé. It was instrumental in regaining control and thwarting the coup attempt.
• The Indian Navy also played a crucial role, with naval vessels deployed to cut off escape routes for the
mercenaries.
Tourism
• The tourism sector of Maldives is the major source of foreign exchange earnings and accounts for
about 75% of the government’s revenue.
• India was the 5th largest source of tourists in 2018, which raised to top most source during 2022.
Way Forward
• Strengthen bilateral relations: Both the countries need to strengthen cooperation on common
agendas – trade & development, maritime security, climate change, capacity development, peo-
ple-to-people relations, defense cooperation, Islamic extremism etc.
• Increase Investment: India can maintain its political influence in South Asia only if with a strong
economic presence must quickly move to conclude pending FTAs with neighbouring nations.
Promoting Maldives’ “Blue Economy” can be a key to booting economic ties & island develop-
ment.
Timely execution of developmental projects may serve to improve India’s credibility vis a vis
China.
• Policy Change: India's “wait and watch” policy needs a re-look and proactive responses must be
crafted to support development and stability in Maldives.
{GS2 – IS – Initiatives} National Security Strategy
Context (IE | TW): India is working on its first-ever National Security Strategy (NSS).
• National Security Strategy (NSS) is a comprehensive document outlining national security objec-
tives and the means to achieve them.
• Apart from the challenges and threats India faces, NSS also addresses non-traditional threats to In-
dia's security, including:
Financial and economic security
Food and energy security
Information warfare
Critical information infrastructure vulnerabilities, supply chains, and the environment
Eligibility
• An officer who is serving as Lieutenant General or General or has retired in the rank of Lieutenant
General or General but has not attained the age of 62 years on the date of his appointment is eli-
gible to be appointed as CDS.
The tenure of three service chiefs is three years of service or until age 62, whichever is earlier.
Hence, the retired Chiefs of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force are unlikely to be considered
for the post of the CDS.
Context (TH | PIB): Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued block-
ing orders against 22 illegal betting apps & websites, including Mahadev Book and Reddyan-
naprestopro on account of its unlawful operations.
Gambling
• Gambling is an act of wagering or betting money or something of value on an event with an un-
certain outcome with the intent to earn more money.
• The global online gambling market size was valued at USD 63.53 billion in 2022 and is expected
to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.7% from 2023 to 2030.
• Asia-Pacific region is the largest online gambling market, with China and Japan being the biggest
contributors.
Way Forward
• Developing a Regulatory Framework: that outlines licensing procedures, operational guidelines, and
consumer protection measures.
• Promoting Responsible Gambling: By implementing policies and programs to promote responsible
gambling, including age restrictions, betting limits, and resources for addiction treatment.
• Combating Associated Crimes: Such as money laundering and match-fixing by strengthening laws
and enforcement mechanisms.
Context (IE): The SC dismissed a PIL filed by an Advocate-on-Record (AoR: a registered lawyer au-
thorized by the SC to represent clients in that court).
• AoRs play a vital role in the Indian legal system by maintaining the quality of litigation in the SC.
Functions of AoR
• Exclusive Right: Only AoRs have the exclusive right to file and argue cases in the SC on behalf of
their clients.
• Link to SC: AoRs serve as the link between litigants and the SC.
• Appearing in Other Courts: AoRs can also appear before other courts.
• Legal Tasks: They can draft petitions, affidavits, and other legal applications on behalf of their clients.
Eligibility
Complete a one-year training program with a court-approved AoR.
Have at least four years of legal practice before commencing AoR training.
Clear the exam with a minimum of 60% score.
Maintain a registered office within sixteen kilometres of the SC building.
Context (TH): Odisha and Auckland (New Zealand) exhibit split voting behaviour in their political
systems.
• In the 2019 Odisha election, voters split their votes despite casting them on the same day.
• Considering the LS votes, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) led in 88 out of 146 Assembly Constituencies. How-
ever, for Assembly votes, the BJD won 113 out of 146 Assembly Constituencies.
• This behaviour offers insights into voter preferences and the effectiveness of electoral systems.
• A split voting system allows voters to split their votes and vote for two different parties.
MMP System
• The Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP) system allows voters to split their votes or give both
votes to one party (double tick).
In general elections, India uses the first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system, while New Zealand
uses the mixed-member proportional (MMP) system.
• Under MMP, voters have two votes:
1. A party vote: To determine the overall parliamentary composition.
2. An electorate vote: To select a local MP.
• It allows voters to choose a candidate from a different party if they don’t like the local candidate from
their preferred party.
• In parliament, winning candidates become MPs, and the remaining seats are filled from party lists.
Auckland Central voters chose Ms Swarbrick from the Green Party as their local MP but favoured
the National Party in their party vote.
Context (TH): Recent fluctuations in global equity markets show that hindsight bias, a tenet of be-
havioural economics, is a major determinant of the quity market.
An equity market is a market where shares of companies are issued and traded.
Hindsight Bias
• Hindsight bias is a cognitive bias that makes people overestimate the predictability of past events.
• It is also known as the ‘I-knew-it-all-along’ phenomenon or creeping determinism.
• It can lead to people making poor decisions about economic investments and policies.
Context (IE): The GoI has allowed some Indian companies to list directly on specific foreign stock
exchanges.
• In 2020, the Centre amended the Companies Act, allowing the direct listing of Indian companies on
foreign stock exchanges.
• Earlier, Indian companies:
Were not allowed to list directly on overseas exchanges.
Could access the overseas markets:
1. Through American Depository Receipts (ADRs) and Global Depository Receipts (GDRs)
2. By listing their debt securities (foreign currency convertible bonds, masala bonds, etc.) on for-
eign markets.
American Depository Receipt (ADR) and the Global Depository Receipt GDR)
• These are the negotiable certificates issued by the depository banks, using which an Indian com-
pany can sell its shares in the global stock markets.
• Similarly, using the Indian Depository Receipt (IDR), foreign companies sell their stocks or shares in
the Indian stock markets.
Financial Securities
• Financial securities are financial instruments that hold some monetary value.
• These are tradable financial instruments to raise capital in public and private markets.
• There are primarily three types of securities:
1. Equity: It provides ownership rights to holders.
2. Debt: Loans repaid with periodic payments.
3. Hybrids: It has aspects of debt and equity.
Context (IE | IE | IE | PIB): The world’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit was held at
Bletchley Park in the UK.
Frontier AI
• Frontier AI is defined as highly capable foundation generative AI models that could possess dan-
gerous capabilities that can pose severe risks to public safety.
• Generative can produce various types of content, including text, imagery, audio and synthetic data.
• Foundation models are trained on a broad set of unlabeled data that can be used for different
tasks with minimal fine-tuning.
• Foundation models will replace the task-specific models that now dominate the AI landscape.
Context (TH | PIB): The Border Road Organisation (BRO) has achieved a breakthrough in the upgrada-
tion of National Highway 144A between Akhnoor to Poonch stretch of the highway.
• The upgradation project is under Prime Minister’s National Development Package announced in
2015 as Reconstruction Plan for Jammu & Kashmir.