DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

(Source: The Hindu, Indian Express, PIB)

(MARCH
( 9, 2024)
GS PAPER: II
Aadhaar and voter ID
Why in the news?

 Linking your Aadhaar with your voter ID is voluntary, but a recent petition in the Supreme Court has
highlighted that the forms for registering electors do not make this
th clear.
 The Election Commission of India, thus, approached the Union government, proposing amendments to the
Representation of the People Act, 1950, and voter enrolment forms, to delete the provision that compels a voter
to provide reasons for her decision
on not to seed her Aadhaar number with the voter ID card.
 The proposal, however, is learned to have been turned down by the Union Law Ministry.
Ministry.

Why did the EC first decide to link Aadhaar with Voter IDs?
 On February 15, 2015, then-ChiefChief Election Commissioner H S Brahma had announced that the EC would start a
drive to link Aadhaar with the electoral roll database from March 1 that year.
 The aim of the drive was to remove bogus or duplicate entries from the electoral roll, and was to be completed
by August of that year. Brahma had clarified that the exercise would be voluntary.
 After the Supreme Court on August 11, 2015 ruled that Aadhaar could only be used for government schemes
for distribution of food grains, LPG and kerosene, the EC stopped its drive. By then, it had already collected 38
crore Aadhaar details.

EC’s stand since then

 In 2019, the EC again proposed linking Aadhaar with the electoral roll, asking the government to amend the
election laws to enable collecting of Aadhaar details.
 The government then brought the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which was passed by Parliament in
December 2021, to enable the linking g of Aadhaar and Voter IDs. Under the Act, the EC re-started
re the collection
of Aadhaar numbers from July 2022 on a voluntary basis.
  A new Form, Form 6B, was introduced for existing electors to give their Aadhaar number and the form for new
registrations was amended as well.

Latest petition in the Supreme Court

 A Congress leader from Telangana, G Niranjan, moved the Supreme Court last year, seeking directions to the
Election Commission and the government to make amendments so those who don’t want to link the their Aadhaar
and Voter ID have that option.
 The Law Ministry had issued a notification on June 17, 2022 that every person whose name is on the electoral
roll “may intimate” the Aadhaar number.
 The Form 6B gave only two options — either provide the Aadhaar number
umber or say one doesn’t possess an
Aadhaar.
 This would force those who did not want to give their Aadhaar number into making a false declaration.
 The EC told the court in September that it would make the clarificatory changes required.

What did the EC propose and what was the government’s stand?
 The EC in a letter to the Law Ministry in December proposed amending the RP Act, 1950 to remove the
requirement of a “sufficient cause” for not providing Aadhaar.
 It also asked the government to amend the registr
registration
ation forms that did not give an option to the individual who
has an Aadhaar but chooses not to furnish it.
 The EC proposed amending the form’s two options, of either giving Aadhaar or saying you don’t have one, to a
single line saying “Aadhaar Number (Opt
(Optional)”.
 The government, however, is believed to have said there is no need for the amendment and clarifications from
the EC will be enough.

GS PAPER – III
IndiaAI Mission
Why in the news?

 Recently the Union Cabinet approved the IndiaAI Mission with an outlay of Rs 10,372 crore for the next five
years, under which the government will allocate funds towards subsidising private companies looking to set up
AI computing capacity in the country, among other things.
India’s plan for setting up AI computing capacity
 Under the IndiaAI Mission, the government will look to establish a computing capacity of more than 10,000
GPUs and also help develop foundational models with a capacity of more than 100 billion parameters trained on
datasets covering major Indian languages for priority sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and
an governance.
 While the infrastructure is being set up, priority will be placed on selecting the most advanced GPUs.
 The implementation of this AI compute infrastructure will be done through a public
public-private
private partnership model
with 50 per cent viability gap funding.
 If the compute prices come down, the private entity will have to add more compute capacity within the same
budgeted amount to meet increased demand.
 Of the total outlay, Rs 4,564 crore has been earmarked for building computing infrastructure.
 Basically,
asically, there will be tender inviting companies to set up data centres. When a company applies for, let’s say a
centre which may cost Rs 10,000 crore, they can seek a viability gap funding from the government for a certain
amount of that.

Proposals beyond hardware

 The Cabinet has approved the financing by the government of deeptech startups at various levels of growth. Of
the total outlay, roughly Rs 2,000 crore has been earmarked towards this.
 As part of the programme, an IndiaAI Datasets Platform will be set up, which will look at leveraging the
quality, access, and use of non-personal
personal datasets for AI innovation.
 The platform will be tasked with hosting identified “high
“high-quality” AI-ready datasets.
 Together, these proposals cover two of the most crucial elements of building large language models: the
hardware and access to high-quality
quality datasets.
 The government will also set up the IndiaAI Innovation Research Centre, which will undertake the development
and deployment of large foundational models, with focus
focus on indigenous Large Multimodal Models and domain-
domain
specific foundational models.
 Close to Rs 2,000 crore has been earmarked for this centre. There is a plan to financially support 4,000 BTech,
400 Mtech, and 600 PhD candidates who will focus on AI in pr premier
emier educational institutions.

Mission fit in with the government’s overall policy

 The IndiaAI Mission announcement came a week after the Cabinet cleared chip projects worth Rs 1.26 lakh
crore, including what could be the country’s first commercial fabrication plant.
 India has identified electronics manufacturing as a key economic driver, and the government is willing to spend
money in the initial phase to get production rolling.
 This is a strategy that the European Union is following as well.
 To allay
lay concerns over overregulation of AI, which could stifle innovation, the European Commission earlier
this year released a set of rules to enable startups and other businesses to access hardware — such as
supercomputers and computing capacity — to build large-scale AI models.

AI regulations and aspects of safety

 Even as the private industry innovates rapidly, lawmakers around the world are grappling with setting up
legislative guardrails around AI to contain some of its downsides.
 In India, the IT Ministry recently issued an advisory to generative AI companies deploying “untested” systems
to seek the government’s permission before doing so.
 However, the government’s move was criticised by stakeholders around the world, forcing it to clarify that the
advisory
ry was not applicable to startups. Questions have also been raised over the legal basis of the advisory.
  Last year, the European Union reached a deal with member states on its AI Act, which includes safeguards on
the use of AI within the EU, including cle
clear
ar guardrails on its adoption by law enforcement agencies. Consumers
have been empowered to file complaints against any perceived violations.
 In the United States, a White House Executive Order on AI is being offered as an elaborate template that could
become
ome a blueprint for other countries looking to regulate AI.
 A blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights released last October is seen as a building block for the subsequent
executive order.

GS PAPER – I
Anthropocene epoch
Why in news?

 Recently a committee of 18 scientists has voted down a proposal to declare the start of the Anthropogenic, or
the “Human Epoch”, in geologic time.

A timeline of Planet Earth

 Geoscientists, or scientists who study the Earth, use the geologic time scale (GTS) to measure the history of the
planet. The GTS (since the formation of Earth, roughly 4.54 billion years ago) is divided, in descending order of
duration, into aeons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages.

 The GTS is based on chronostratigraphic classification. Stratigraphy is a branch of geology that deals with the
study of rock layers (or strata).
 Chronostratigraphy (“chrono”: relating to time) is an aspect of stratigraphy that deals with the relation between
rock strata and the measurement of geological time.
  Chronostratigraphic units are not uniform — any two aeons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages do not encompass
the same length of time (like days or m
minutes).
 Rather, transition from one to another is marked by events (often violent, such as mass extinctions) that shape
the planet and its living conditions.
 Importantly, each interval of Earth time must have a clear, objective, universally applicable starting
st point.
 Currently, we are living in the Phanerozoic aeon, during the Cenozoic era, in the Quaternary period, the
Holocene epoch, and the Meghalayan age.

The proposed ‘Human Epoch’

 The Holocene epoch (from the Greek “holos”, meaning ‘whole’, and ““kainos”,
kainos”, meaning “new”) began some
11,700 years ago, at the end of the Last Glacial Period (LGP).
 During the LGP, up to 25% of the Earth’s land surface was covered by glaciers, the mean sea level was up to
400 feet lower, and the average temperature fell to 8 degree Celsius.
 The Holocene saw the warming of the Earth, which closely corresponded with the rise and proliferation of
human beings. While Homo sapiens as a species had evolved well before the Holocene began, all of humanity’s
recorded history falls in this epoch.
 Since the year 2000, when the Dutch meteorologist Paul Crutzen and American botanist Eugene Stoermer
coined the term Anthropocene, the idea of a separate ‘human’ epoch (“Anthropo”: relating to humankind) has
excited many geoscientists.
 Proponents
ponents of Anthropocene argue that humans have changed the Earth to such an extent that a new geological
epoch has begun.
 The Anthropocene Working Group (AWG), a 37 37-member
member research group, began deliberations in 2009 to come
up with a starting point for the epoch and, after years of deliberation, decided on the year 1952.
 The period after World War II is seen as the “Great Acceleration”, during which the human population
skyrocketed, the burning of fossil fuels surged, the fallout of nuclear tests spread across
across the planet, the use of
nitrogen-based
based fertilisers became rampant, and plastics became ubiquitous.
Rejection of the proposal

 The AWG submitted its proposal to the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), the representative
body of more than a million geoscientists from more than 120 countries and regions devoted to international
cooperation in the field of geology, last fall.
 Starting February this year, the proposal was taken up for a vote by the Subcommission on Quaternary
Stratigraphy (SQS),), a constituent body of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), the largest
scientific organisation within the IUGS
 The SQS voted 12 to 4 against the proposal, with two abstentions. The IUGS committee determined that adding
an Anthropocene epoch — and terminating the Holocene — was not supported by the standards used to define
epochs according to chronostratigraphy.
 This criticism is not new. In 2015, the geologist Bill Ruddiman and others wrote in Science magazine: “Does it
really make sense too define the start of a human-dominated
human dominated era millennia after most forests in arable regions had
been cut for agriculture?”
 This week, the ecologist and environmental scientist Erle C Ellis, a former member of the AWG, wrote for The
Conversation: “By tying thehe start of the human age to such a recent and devastating event — [such as] nuclear
fallout — this proposal risked sowing confusion about the deep history of how humans are transforming the
Earth, from climate change and biodiversity losses to pollution bby
y plastics and tropical deforestation.”
 Also, as mentioned above, the boundaries between epochs typically tend to represent truly massive geological
change. “Our last boundary, between the Holocene and the Pleistocene, was almost one-third
one third of this planet
being covered by ice.
 Again, GTS is based on records in solid rocks, not sediments like the ones in Crawford Lake, Ontario, Canada,
which AWG’s proposal had selected as the physical site which most clearly showed a definitive break between
the Holocene and the Anthropocene.

GS PAPER – II

Use of student visa to push Indians into Russian war

Why in news?

The CBI has successfully busted a multi-state

state network trafficking Indians to the Russia
Russia-Ukraine
Ukraine war zone, resulting in
the recovery of Rs 50 lakh in incriminating documents and electronic records.
Key Highlights
 The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR against visa consultancy firms and agents for
allegedly sending youths to the Russia
Russia-Ukraine war zone in the guise of lucrative jobs.
 The CBI conducted searches at around 15 locations in seven cities and recovered Rs 50 lakh, incriminating
documents, and electronic records.
 Around 35 instances of victims sent abroad have been established, and the identity of more trafficking victims is
being established.
 The CBI has busted major human trafficking networks targeting gullible youths on the promise of offering
lucrative jobs abroad.
 Accused firms include M/s 24×7 RAS Overseas Foundation, M/s O.S.D Bros Travels & Visa Services P Pvt Ltd.,
M/s Adventure Visa Services Pvt Ltd., and Baba Vlogs Overseas Recruitment Solutions Pvt Ltd., Dubai.

GS PAPER – II

Ayushman Bharat Beneficiaries

Why in news?
  Over half of Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries have used the scheme to access private care, with 53% patients in
five southern states using it. The scheme, jointly funded by the Centre and states, has reduced out
out-of-pocket
healthcare spending for a large portion of the population, who previously drew savings for treatment in private
hospitals.
 The government's data suggests that average medical expenditure in private hospitals is 66-8 times higher than in
government hospitals. The scheme is jointly funded by the Centre and the stat
states
es in a 60:40 ratio.

Ayushman Bharat: A Shift in Healthcare Expenditure and Impact

 Launched in September 2018, AB-PMJAY

PMJAY aims to provide universal health coverage and reduce out-of-pocket
out
healthcare expenses.
 67% of the total expenditure under the scheme since 2018 went to private healthcare facilities.
 Southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana have just 17% of Ayushman
cards nationwide, but account for 53% of total patients.
 Nearly 60% of the 5.47 crore patients who aavailed
vailed of the scheme over five years were from these states.

Ayushman Bharat Scheme Overview

 Cashless and paperless scheme offers up to Rs 5 lakh annually per family for hospitalisations in 27,000
healthcare facilities.
 Covers nearly 2,000 procedures and critical illness coverage for patients with cancer, heart, and liver diseases.
 Covers pre-hospitalisation and post-hospitalisation
hospitalisation expenses.
 Beneficiary families identified from 2011 Socio-Economic
Socio Caste Census (SECC).
 Potential beneficiaries: 13.44 crore families (65 crore people).
 Data analysis shows 5.47 crore patients accessed treatment between 2018 and 2023.
 Average annual patient access increased from 49 lakh in the first three years to 1.33 crore in the subsequent
three years.

Private Healthcare Access in India

 Over the last five years, 5.47 crore patients in India have accessed private hospitals for treatment under the
scheme.
 In 15 states, the percentage of individuals seeking treatment at private facilities exceeded the national average
of 54%.
 In eight states and UTs, 70% of those who accessed treatment under the scheme did so at private hospitals –
Uttar Pradesh (81%), Haryana (81.45%), Gujarat (78%), Chandigarh (76%), Maharashtra (77%), Tamil Nadu
(74%), Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh (~70%).
 A significant portion of the 2.95 crore beneficiaries who accessed treatment at private facilities were
concentrated in just five states: Tamil Nadu (71.95 lakh patients), Andhra Pradesh (35.78 lakh patients), Uttar
Pradesh (25.57 lakh patients), Gujarat ((23.04
23.04 lakh patients), and Kerala (21.31 lakh patients).
 Uttar Pradesh, one of India’s largest states, consistently experienced double
double-digit
digit growth in patients going to
private hospitals over the previous year.
 The government incurred an expenditure of Rs 72,817.76
72,817.76 crore for treating patients under the scheme, of which
over 66% was spent for treatment at private facilities.

Government Healthcare System in India

 Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh have 24% of empanelled government hospitals, bbut only
11% of patients access treatment.
 Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, and Jharkhand, with 5% hospitals, serve 22% of total patients.
 This suggests efficient healthcare system with smaller hospitals catering to larger population.

Post-Covid Trend in Patient Treatment

 Shift towards government facilities in 2022

2022-23 and 2023-24.
  64.96 lakh patients preferred private facilities, 70.69 lakh chose government.
 57.56 lakh patients preferred private facilities, 70.89 lakh chose government.
 Private facilities spent Rs 13,213.13 crore in 2022-23,
2022 Rs 7,055.12 crore in 2023-24.
GS PAPER – II

Sudha Murty nominated to Rajya sabha

Why in news?

 Sudha Murty, a 73-year-old

old philanthropist and former chairperson of Infosys Foundation, has been nominated
to the Rajya Sabha.
 Murty,, who was awarded the Padma Shri in 2006 and the Padma Bhushan in 2023, has made significant
contributions to social work, philanthropy, and education.
 Modi praised Murty's presence in the Rajya Sabha as a powerful testament to the 'Nari Shakti', highlight
highlighting the
strength and potential of women in shaping the nation's destiny.

Key Highlights

Sudha Murty Nominated to Rajya Sabha

 Sudha Murty, wife of Infosys co-founder

founder Narayana Murthy, has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
 She expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve the nation and expressed surprise at the
government's decision.
 Murty is currently on a visit to Thailand and is studying to become a member of the Upper House.
 The nomination coincides with the BJP's ef efforts to attract women voters
ters ahead of the 2024 polls.
 The party has announced various schemes targeting women and has consistently focused on women's
welfare and protection in legislation.
 Vice President and Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep D Dhankhar, congratulated
ratulated Murty.
 Murty is an educator, author, and philanthropist, having started the Infosys F Foundation
oundation in 1996.
 She has written numerous books and is a columnist for English and Kannada newspapers.
GS PAPER – II

India Set to Sign Trade Agreement with Four Nation EFTA Bloc

Why in news?

 India and the four-nation

nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) grouping, which includes Iceland,
Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, are expected to sign a trade agreement on March 10.

More about the agreement

 The Trade and Economic Partnership Agr

Agreement (TEPA) is one of three free-trade
trade agreements (FTAs) that
 announcements after the release of general election dates, takes effect. The other two deals are with Oman and
the United Kingdom.
 While the Oman deal is nearing completion and legal scrutinizing is ongoing, the much-anticipated
much anticipated India-UK
India
FTA is also receiving attention at the highest levels, with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) examining the
agreement late last month.
 According to a PTI report, UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch has stated that an
India-UK
UK FTA "is possible" before the Indian elections, but that the UK does not want to use it as a "deadline".
 Other trade agreements, such as the comprehensive agreement with Australia and the free trade agreement
(FTA) with the 27-member
member European Union (EU), are also being negotiated, but are expected to be completed
only after the general election. Both deals involve the agriculture
agriculture sector, a sensitive subject for India especially
amid the farmers' unrest.

India and EFTA

 India and EFTA are reaching the end of a pact that will see the European Union invest $100 billion in India
over 15 years in areas such as pharmaceuticals
pharmaceuticals, food processingng engineering, and chemicals.
 The investment promise, the first of its type in an FTA, would be mostly funded by EFTA member countries'
provident funds. These include Norway's $1.6 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest pensio
pension fund,
which earned a record $213 billion profit in 2023 as a result of strong technology stock performance. However,
the investment promise may not be legally binding.
 The promise falls under "investment promotion," and India and EFTA will not sign a Bilateral
Bilateral Investment
Treaty (BIT), which is currently being di
discussed with the UK and the EU.
 An investment commitment is critical, as India-EFTA
India EFTA trade favours the European grouping in terms of goods.
According to trade analysts, India has a large trade defi
deficit
cit with Switzerland, which might grow further if India
reduces taxes as part of the agreement. India's imports from Switzerland totalled $15.79 billion in FY23,
compared to $1.34 billion in exports, resulting in a significant trade deficit of $14.45 billion.
billi
 EFTA is also considering forming joint ventures in pharmaceuticals (particularly medical devices), chemicals,
food processing, and engineering. Trade experts pointed out that the investment promise might be a significant
advantage for India.
 The India-EFTA
EFTA agreement may result in increased imports of machinery, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment,
and machinery due to a significant drop in Indian tariffs, which are now among the highest in the world at an
average of 18%.
 India is also considering the EFTAA agreement to help diversify imports away from China. India presently relies
on China for essential medical imports.