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Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Why in News?

Recently, Indian Navy’s premier technical training institute INS Valsura organised a workshop on the contemporary topic ‘Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (Al) for Indian Navy‘

What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

• Artificial intelligence is the branch of computer science concerned with making computers behave like humans.
• AI refers to the ability of machines to perform cognitive tasks like thinking, perceiving, learning, problem solving and decision making.
• It is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computers.
• It refers to the ability of machines to perform cognitive tasks like thinking, perceiving, learning, problem solving and decision making and execute tasks in real time situations without constant supervision.
• Particular applications of AI include expert systems, speech recognition and machine vision.

Significance of Artificial Intelligence:

• NITI Aayog’s national strategy for AI envisages ‘AI for all’ for inclusive growth, and identifies healthcare, agriculture, education, smart cities and infrastructure, and smart mobility and transportation as focus areas for AI-led solutions for social impact.
• Data and AI services are expected to help boost India’s economic growth in a big way. NASSCOM believes that data and AI will contribute $450 billion-$500 billion to India’s GDP by 2025, which is around 10% of the government’s aspiration of a $5 trillion economy.
• It has the potential to overcome the physical limitations of capital and labour and open up new sources of value and growth.
• The growing AI economy is estimated to create over 20 million technical roles alone.
• AI can create not just niche solutions to specific problems that banks and other service providers are deploying, such as speeding up loan application processing or improving customer service;
• it can also provide solutions for better governance and social impact. For example, during the lockdown, the Telangana police used AI-enabled automated number plate recognition software to catch violations.
• It has the potential to drive growth by enabling
• Intelligent automation i.e., ability to automate complex physical world tasks. Innovation diffusion i.e., propelling innovations through the economy.
• Role in social development and inclusive growth: access to quality health facilities, addressing location barriers, providing real-time advisory to farmers and help in increasing productivity, building smart and efficient cities etc.
• The exponential growth of data is constantly feeding AI improvements.
• AI has varied applications in fields like Healthcare, Education, Smart Cities, Environment, Agriculture, smart Mobility etc.

Issues related to Artificial Intelligence:

• Ethical concerns: With popularization of a new technology, its virtues are not guaranteed. For instance, the internet made it possible to connect with anyone and get information from anywhere, but also easier for misinformation to spread.
• Data Management: as there is lack of clarity on data flow and data ownership which might result into data colonialism (data generated by developing countries yet not benefitting them).
• Biasedness: The algorithms used in artificial intelligence are discrete and, in most cases, trade secrets. They can be biased, for example, in the process of self-learning, they can absorb and adopt the stereotypes that exist in society or which are transferred to them by developers and make decisions based on them.
• Accountability: If an AI system fails at its assigned task, someone should be made responsible for it. e.g., an anti-terrorism facial recognition program revoked the driver’s license of an innocent man when it confused him for another driver.

International Customs Day, 2022

Why in News?

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs celebrated International Customs Day, 2022.

Details:

• Theme of International Customs Day, 2022 :  “Scaling up Customs Digital Transformation by Embracing a Data Culture and Building a Data Ecosystem’’.
• January 26 marks the celebration of International Customs Day (ICD) all across the world with the United Nations as the host.
• It is an annual event that is meant to acknowledge and appreciate the role that customs officials and agencies play in ensuring the smooth flow of goods across the world borders.
• The endeavour is to emphasise the working conditions and challenges that customs officers face in their jobs.

About World Customs Organization

• The World Customs Organization is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.
• WPO is noted for its work in areas covering international conferences, equipment, and equipment development, commodity classification, evaluation, collection of rules of origin, customs revenue, and other topics.
• The WTO takes account of the naming of International Relevant System (HS) goods, the technical aspects of the Trade Organisation (WTO), customs assessment, and rules of origin.
• The WCO’s primary objective is to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of member customs administrations, thereby assisting them to contribute successfully to national development goals, particularly revenue collection, national security, trade facilitation, community protection, and collection of trade statistics.

Swachhata Start-Up Challenge

Why in News?

Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India,in partnership with Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) launched the Swachhata Start-Up Challenge

About  Swachhata Start-Up Challenge :

Nodal: Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA)

• The Challenge provides a prominent platform to participating enterprises to showcase their innovative products and services along with significant monetary and mentorship incentive.
• Top 10 awardees stand to receive ₹25 lakhs along with one year of dedicated incubation support from French Tech, the French government’s initiative to promote start-ups.
• Apart from this these, eligible startups will get additional incentives which includes upto ₹ 50 Lakhs follow-on investment from Villgro, the implementation partner of the Challenge and upto 100,000 USD worth credits and technology support from technology partner Amazon Web Services, to each winner.

Aim:

• To provide an impetus to innovative start-ups to come forward and drive catalytic transformation in the sanitation and waste management sector.
• To promote an enabling environment for enterprise development under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0).

The Challenge, which is open to start-ups registered in India and French actors collaborating with an Indian start-up (as a joint venture), invites solutions across four thematic areas viz.
(i) social inclusion,
(ii) zero dump (solid waste management),
(iii) plastic waste management and
(iv) transparency through digital enablement.