24 June 2023 : Indian Express
Indian Express
24-June-2023
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1. Another AI – America & India
Syllabus – GS II
Recent Context – Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a joint session of the US Congress.
Highlights
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President Biden and Prime Minister Modi expressed their deep concern over the conflict in Ukraine and mourned its terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences.
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They called for respect for international law, principles of the UN charter, and territorial integrity and sovereignty.
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Both countries concurred on the importance of post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine.
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They recommitted themselves to empowering the Quad as a partnership for global good.
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Modi welcomed the US joining the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, and Biden welcomed India’s continued participation as an observer in the Partners in the Blue Pacific.
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They looked forward to both governments holding an inaugural Indian Ocean Dialogue in 2023.
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They reiterated their enduring commitment to a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous India-Pacific region with respect for territorial integrity, sovereignty, and international law.
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Both leaders expressed concern over coercive actions and rising tensions. They strongly opposed destabilising or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force, the statement said, in reference to Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
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They reiterated the call for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizb-ul Mujahideen.
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They strongly condemned cross-border terrorism, the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks.
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They reaffirmed and embraced their shared values of freedom, democracy, human rights, inclusion, pluralism, and equal opportunities for all citizens.
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They reasserted that democracy, freedom, and the rule of law are the shared values that anchor global peace and sustainable development.
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Both leaders committed to working towards ensuring that the fruits of economic growth and well-being reach the underprivileged. They also committed to pursuing programs and initiatives to facilitate women-led development and enable all women and girls to live free from gender-based violence and abuse.
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The joint statement spoke of deliverables in the field of critical technologies, including quantum, advanced computing, artificial intelligence, semiconductor supply chains, Critical Minerals Partnership, advanced telecommunications, NASA-ISRO collaboration, Innovation Handshake, and cutting-edge research.
2. Saving ‘heritage, aesthetics’: No to cellular tower in Central Vista
Recent Context – The NDMC stated no cellular towers could be located in its vicinity.
NDMC New Policy
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Installations of towers/antennae, either ground-based or on the rooftop, shall not be permitted within the Central Vista.
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Towers should be located on the rear end of the plot and should not be visible from the main entrance or road to ensure the aesthetics of the area.
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A committee comprising the Chairperson of the NDMC, Department of Telecom and the Ministry of Home Affairs will determine the need for tower installation on a case-by-case basis.
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The corporation also sought to lay stress on avoiding more towers and optimising the use of existing ones. For this purpose, each existing tower will need to accommodate at least three operators.
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Installation of towers near NDMC schools, hospitals, and dispensaries is also prohibited, and permissions, according to the policy, would also be granted on a case-by-case basis, as in the Central Vista area.
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According to the policy, when applying for permission to build a tower, operators must now submit an undertaking ensuring that the tower’s installation has no negative impact on the health of people in the surrounding area.
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The one-time permission fee, which is payable every five years, has also been raised from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh; on the other hand, operators who fail to renew permissions by the due date will have to pay a penalty of Rs 10,000 per month. Furthermore, the new policy prohibits the use of diesel generators to power the antenna and COWs (cellular on wheels).
3. The road not taken before
Syllabus – GS II
Recent Context – Modi and Biden have nudged India and the US towards jointly constructing a stable Asian balance of power system.
How did it happen?
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The agreements unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden — ranging from advanced technology cooperation to climate change, from moon missions to reformed multilateralism, from the production of a fighter jet engine to investments in semiconductors, and countering terrorism to digital public infrastructure—is breathtaking.
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This new moment in bilateral relations is also a defining one for the evolution of Asian geo-politics, condemned to inevitable Chinese dominance in recent times. The new India-US defence partnership makes it possible to conceive of an Asia that is not vulnerable to domination by any one power.
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The India-US defence compact is not an effort to contain Beijing. It is an attempt to build a multi-polar Asia with sufficient deterrent capabilities and ensure respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states in the region.
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Joint production of the F414 fighter jet engine in India and the supply of advanced armed drones—is part of the effort to strengthen India’s military capabilities and thereby enhance its deterrence against China.
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The formation of the Quadrilateral Forum in 2007 and the emergence of the Indo-Pacific construct seemed to produce a basis for serious India-US strategic collaboration in Asia.
Conclusion
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The US has made an effort to carve out a special set of terms to facilitate defence and advanced technology transfer to India. Underlying this is a new US strategy to build a more balanced Asia. That suits Delhi, which is not seeking an alliance with the US but a partnership that will elevate India’s capabilities and help contribute to a stable Asian architecture.
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For the first time since the Second World War, the US-India security partnership now becomes a new and significant variable in Asian geo-politics.
4. IN A NEW SPACE
Syllabus – GS III
Recent Context – India has signed the Artemis Accords.
Artemis Accords
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It is an international law that binds together all the signatory countries who appear as Artemis Accords members after that.
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The Artemis Accords is a formal agreement among different nations that ensures that any research activity conducted in outer space shall benefit the entire human race and not harm the interests of other countries.
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The founding members of the Artemis Accords are Australia, Canada, Japan, Italy, Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the US.
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As more countries establish a presence in outer space via research stations, satellites, or even rocket launchers, these accords provide a set of principles to create a safe and transparent environment that inspires exploration, science, and commercial activities.
Space exploration
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India is already a signatory to the Outer Space Treaty and the associated international regimes.
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By signing the Accords, India has decisively thrown its weight behind a US-led alliance on space matters.
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The US was at the forefront of denying crucial space technologies to India in the 1980s and 1990s. It forced Russia in the early 1990s to renege on a commitment to supply cryogenic technology to India.
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A lot of what India plans to do in space— human missions, moon landings, planetary explorations, setting up a space station—has already been done by countries like the US, Russia or China.
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Joining the US-led alliance is an attempt by India to leapfrog and start collaborating on the next generation of technologies, even as it pursues its own efforts to implement its space plans.
Russia, India and Space
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Historically, Russia has been India’s most trusted partner in the space sector, just like it has been in defence. Even recently, it was Russia that offered its facilities to train Indian astronauts for the Gaganyaan mission.
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Joining an alliance that is aimed at promoting US interests in space is not likely to be seen very favourably by Russia.
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India will have to strike the same careful and delicate balance that it has been doing in the energy sector since the Ukraine war.
5. 88 Buddhist temples, 750miles, untold gifts: Japan’s Shikoku pilgrimage
Syllabus – GS I
Recent Context – A famed route on the smallest of Japan’s 4 main islands offers breathtaking views and an array of lessons.
About Shikoku
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The pilgrimage on Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands, is a 750-mile route that links 88 Buddhist temples, each of which claims a connection to Kukai, a celebrated monk — posthumously known as Kobo Daishi — who, after returning from a trip to China in the ninth century, founded one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan.
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After Kukai’s death in 835, wanderers began making pilgrimages to the sites on Shikoku that were affiliated with his life and work: his birth and burial places, the caves where he meditated, and the sites of various religious rites. Later, these sites were linked, and the temples and shrines were formally numbered.
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As is true with many modern-day pilgrimages, the ranks of Shikoku pilgrims — once exclusively practitioners of Shingon Buddhism, one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan — have grown to include travellers with a more diverse array of motivations.
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One custom that distinguishes the people of Shikoku is the practice of osettai, the act of giving gifts to the pilgrims. These gifts come in the form of food, drink, trinkets, car rides, meals, a place to sleep— even, at times, small sums of money.
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The pilgrimage’s temples are scattered along the perimeter of the island—some near the coast and some farther into the mountainous interior. Some are grouped together, and others are 50 miles apart.
For Enquiry
24 June 2023 : Indian Express
24 June 2023 : PIB
24 June 2023 : The Hindu Editorial
24 June 2023 : Daily Current Affairs
23 June 2023 : Daily Quiz
23 June 2023 : Indian Express
23 June 2023 : PIB
23 June 2023 : The Hindu Editorial
23 June 2023 : Daily Current Affairs
22 June 2023 : Daily Quiz
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The Indian Express, CSE candidates can stay informed about current events…
PIB 23 June 2023 : PIB PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU
23-June-2023
Daily Current Affairs For UPSC ,The PIB ( Press Information Bureau…
The Hindu 23 June 2023 : The Hindu Editorial The Hindu Editorial
23-June-2023
Daily Current Affairs For UPSC ,The Hindu Editorial Summary
Facebook-f
Twitter
Youtube…
Daily Current Affairs 23 June 2023 : Daily Current Affairs DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS
23-June-2023
Daily Current Affairs For UPSC ,Daily Current affairs of The hIndu…
Daily Quiz 22 June 2023 : Daily Quiz 22 June 2023 : Daily Quiz…
