UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 27th January 2024 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

GS-II

India and France Relations

Subject: International Relations

Why in News?

Recently, the President of India received the President of the French Republic at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Background:-

• Welcoming President Macron at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President said that the leaders of two countries being guests of honour in each other’s successive National Day parade and celebrations is a historic moment, and a symbol of the depth of our friendship and the strength of our partnership.

About India and France Relations:-

• India and France are long-standing strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific.
• The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1947.
• The relations upgraded to the strategic level in 1998.

Defence:-

• France is one of India’s key partners in the development of a self-reliant defence industrial and technological base.
• India and France are committed to cooperating in the co-development and co-production of advanced defence technologies, including for the benefit of third countries.
• An agreement for building six Scorpène submarines in India with French help was signed in 2005.
• The government-to-government agreement for 36 Rafale aircraft has taken place.

Economic:-

• Bilateral trade of over USD 12 billion in 2021-22.
• France is the 11th largest foreign investor in India

Science and Technology:-

• For the first time, the two countries concluded a Joint Vision for Space Cooperation in 2018.
• As for nuclear energy, the two leaders must review progress in the joint construction of the world’s largest nuclear park in Jaitapur, Maharashtra.
• An agreement was signed about a decade ago for building six EPR (European Pressurized Reactors) nuclear power reactors with a total capacity of 9.6 GW for which negotiations have been on-going between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Areva.

Environment:-

• The International Solar Alliance is set in motion jointly by India and France.
• France offered an extra $861.5 million by 2022 for solar projects in developing countries.

Bilateral military exercises:-

• Exercise Shakti (Army)
• Exercise Varuna (Navy)
• Exercise Garuda (Air Force)
• IMEX 22

Source: PIB

Houthis

Subject: International Relations

Why in News?

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have stepped up their attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea.

About Houthis:

• The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), are an armed religious and political movement in Yemen.
• Houthis are Zaydi Shiites, or Zaydiyyah. Shiite Muslims are the minority community in the Islamic world, and Zaydis are a minority of Shiites, significantly different in doctrine and beliefs from the Shiites who dominate in Iran, Iraq, and elsewhere.
• They are a minority in Yemen, which is predominantly Sunni Muslim, but they are a significant one, numbering in the hundreds of thousands and making up as much as a third of the overall population.
• Its members advocate regional autonomy for Zaidis in northern Yemen.
• They have been fighting Yemen’s Sunni-majority government since 2004. 
• The Houthis took over the Yemeni capital Sanaa in September 2014 and seized control over much of north Yemen by 2016.
• The Houthi movement began as an effort to maintain tribal autonomy in northern Yemen and protest Western influence in the Middle East.
• Today, the Houthis seek a greater role in the Yemeni government and continue to advocate for Zaidi minority interests.
• The movement is known for its virulently anti-American and anti-Semitic rhetoric.
• Several of the group’s leaders have been designated as terrorists by the United States.

Source: India Today

GS-III

Tax-GDP ratio

Subject: Economy

Why in News?

Recently, Direct tax-GDP ratio rose to 15-year high in FY-2023.

Background:-

• Direct tax-to-GDP ratio, rose to a 15-year high of 6.11 per cent in the financial year 2022-23, time-series data released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) under the Ministry of Finance.

About tax-GDP ratio:-

• Tax to GDP ratio measures how much tax is collected in relation to the country’s GDP.
• It reflects the share of taxes in the overall output generated in the country.
• The tax-GDP ratio is used to determine how well the government controls a country’s economic resources.
• The tax-to-GDP ratio measures the size of a country’s tax revenue compared to its GDP.
• The higher the tax-to-GDP ratio, the better the country’s financial position.
• The direct tax-to-GDP ratio is the ratio of direct tax collected compared to national gross domestic product (GDP).
• Direct Tax is a tax levied directly on a taxpayer’s income, profit or revenue who pays it to the Government and cannot pass it on to someone else.

Implications of increase in direct tax-GDP ratio:-

• Due to an increase in direct tax revenues, the State can spend on national security, welfare system, public goods, etc.
• The borrowing can be reduced and the fiscal deficit be reduced.
• Higher tax collections increase the capacity of the government to incur expenditure for welfare schemes.
• There will be decreased dependence on indirect taxes which are regressive in nature.
• There will be a decrease in social inequality.

Significance:-

• The tax-to-GDP ratio is a key indicator of economic health.
• This signifies the efficiency of tax collection and the broadening of the tax base, reflecting a robust fiscal environment.

Source: Indian Express

Agulhas long-billed lark

Subject: Environment and Ecology

Why in News?

Recent reports suggest that, Agulhas long-billed lark is adapting and surviving despite farming taking over their nesting grounds in South Africa.

Background:-

• Because it only occurs in a small part of South Africa, the Agulhas long-billed lark presents ecotourism value and forms part of South Africa’s unique biodiversity.

About Agulhas long-billed lark:-

• Scientific Name: Certhilauda brevirostris.
• It is a small passerine bird.
• The Agulhas long-billed lark is only found in South Africa.
• It builds nests on the ground mainly in Renosterveld fynbos, a type of vegetation filled with grasses and wild spring flowers that is critically endangered by agricultural expansion.
• It is an endemic resident breeder in the Western Cape, South Africa.
• Its restricted range is centred on the Agulhas arable farmlands, from east of the Hottentots-Holland mountain range to Mossel Bay, and occupies a maximum of 15,000 km2 (5,800 sq mi).
• The Agulhas long-billed lark is 18–20 cm (7.1–7.9 in) in length.
• It is long-tailed and has a longish curved bill.
• It has a streaked buff-grey head and back, and the closed wings are grey.
• The underparts are cream-coloured with dark streaking on the breast and flanks.

Conservation status:-

• IUCN: Near-threatened

Source: Down to Earth

Sovereign AI

Subject: Science and Technology

Why in News?

Recently, India is building its own ‘sovereign AI’.

Background:-

• India has pitched itself as a country that has effectively used technology to develop and deliver governance solutions at a mass scale.

About Sovereign AI:-

• Sovereignty in AI refers to a nation’s capability to exercise control and authority over AI technologies developed, utilized, or deployed within its jurisdiction.
• Sovereign AI emphasizes a nation’s desire to protect its interests, ensure ethical AI usage, promote national security, drive economic growth, and maintain control over critical AI infrastructure and applications.
• Governments need to create policies, laws, and regulations governing AI research, development, and deployment to ensure compliance with ethical standards, data privacy, security, and accountability.
• Nations need to formulate comprehensive strategies outlining AI development goals, investment plans, skill development, and ethical guidelines to drive innovation and competitiveness.
• Data Sovereignty is required.
• Sovereign AI involves efforts to develop AI technologies for national security, defense, and surveillance.
• It is important to incorporate ethical considerations into AI development and deployment.

India and Sovereign AI:-

• The government of India wants to establish sovereign AI, emphasizing the importance of developing its own AI ecosystem rather than relying solely on global players like Google and Meta.
• Objective: to leverage AI for economic development and offer a sanctioned AI compute infrastructure for various use cases.
• The focus will be not only on competing in generative AI models but also on addressing real-world applications in healthcare, agriculture, governance, language translation, and more.
• India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT has proposed the creation of an India Datasets platform as part of the National Data Governance Framework Policy.
• The platform aims to house non-personal and anonymized datasets from Central government entities, which have collected data from Indian citizens.
• The objective is to make this non-personal data accessible to startups and Indian researchers, fostering an environment for artificial intelligence (AI) and data-led research and startups in the country.

Source: Indian Express

BrahMos

Subject: Defense and Security

Why in News?

India is all set to begin the export of ground systems for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines.

About BrahMos:

• It is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from land, sea, and air.
• It has been developed by Brahmos Aerospace, a joint venture of India and Russia.
• It is named after the rivers Brahmaputra (India) and Moskva (Russia).
• Features:
  • It is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine as its first stage, which brings it to supersonic speed and then gets separated. The liquid ramjet, or second stage then takes the missile closer to 3 Mach speed in the cruise phase.
  • It is one of the fastest cruise missiles currently operationally deployed, with a speed of Mach 2.8, which is nearly three times more than the speed of sound.
  • It has a launch weight of 2,200-3,000 kg.
  • The extended-range variant of the missile can strike land and sea targets at a maximum range of 400 to 500 kilometers with supersonic speed all throughout the flight.
  • It operates on the "Fire and Forgets" principle, adopting varieties of flights on its way to the target.
  • Its cruising altitude could be up to 15 km, and its terminal altitude is as low as 10 meters.
  • It carries a conventional warhead weighing 200 to 300 kg.
  • It is equipped with stealth technology designed to make it less visible to radar and other detection methods.
  • It has an inertial navigation system (INS) for use against ship targets, and an INS/Global Positioning System for use against land targets.

Source: India Today

Armado

Subject: Defence and Security

Why in News?

The new Mahindra Armado recently made its first appearance at the Republic Day Parade.

About Armado:

• It is India’s first Armoured Light Specialist Vehicle (ALSV).
• It is a fully indigenous vehicle designed and built by the Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS) for the Indian armed forces.
• It can be used in counter-terrorist and special forces operations. It can also be used by quick reaction teams, as a reconnaissance vehicle and for patrolling the borders.
• Features:
  • It has a seating capacity of six passengers, including the driver, and can be configured to seat up to eight.
  • Above the standard 1,000 kg load capacity, the ASLV can carry another 400 kg.
  • It gets ballistic protection up to the B7 level and STANAG level-2. This means that its armour offers protection against armour-piercing rifles.
  • Also, the ASLV gets protection on all sides(front, side and rear) from ballistics and explosives.
  • Powering the 4-wheeler is a 3.2-litre multi-fuel diesel engine that generates 216 hp of maximum power.
  • Armado takes just 12 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60 kmph, and runs at a speed of more than 120 kmph.
  • It also gets a self-cleaning-type exhaust scavenging and air filtration system for extreme dusty climate, like deserts.

Source: PIB