Weekly Current Affairs (22nd to 31st August 2022) - 1 - UPSC PDF Download

Facial Recognition Technology

Context

• Right to Information (RTI) responses received by the Internet Freedom Foundation, a New-Delhi based digital rights organisation, reveals that the Delhi Police treats matches of above 80% similarity generated by its facial recognition technology (FRT) system as positive results.

What did the 2022 RTI Responses by Delhi Police Reveal?

Right to Information Responses:

• Facial Recognition Threshold: The Delhi Police has revealed that matches above 80% similarity are treated as positive results while matches below 80% similarity are treated as false positive results which require additional “corroborative evidence”.
• Collection of Data: Delhi Police is matching the photographs/videos against photographs collected under Section 3 and 4 of the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920, which has now been replaced by the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022.

Concerns

• 80% Threshold
  • It is unclear why 80% has been chosen as the threshold between positive and false positive.
  • The categorisation of below 80% results as false positive instead of negative shows that the Delhi Police may still further investigate below 80% results.
    • People who share familial facial features, such as in extended families or communities, could end up being targeted.
    • This could result in targeting communities who have been historically overpoliced and have faced discrimination at the hands of law enforcement authorities.
• Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022:
  • It is feared that the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022 will lead to overbroad collection of personal data in violation of internationally recognised best practices for the collection and processing of data.

What is Facial Recognition Technology?

About:

• Facial recognition is an algorithm-based technology which creates a digital map of the face by identifying and mapping an individual’s facial features, which it then matches against the database to which it has access.
• In the Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS), the large database (containing photos and videos of peoples’ faces) is used to match and identify the person.
• Image of an unidentified person, taken from CCTV footage, is compared to the existing database using Artificial Intelligence technology, for pattern-finding and matching.

Working:

• The facial recognition system works primarily by capturing the face & its features through the camera and then using various kinds of software to reconstruct those features.

Uses:

• 1:1 verification: The facial map is obtained for the purpose of matching it against the person’s photograph on a database to authenticate their identity. For example, 1:1 verification is used to unlock phones.
• 1: n identification: The facial map is obtained from a photograph or video and then matched against the entire database to identify the person in the photograph or video. Law enforcement agencies such as the Delhi Police usually procure FRT for 1: n identification.

Need:

• Authentication: It is used for identification and authentication purposes with a success rate of almost 75%.
• Force Multiplier: In India, where there are just 144 constables per 1 lakh citizens, this can act as a force multiplier. It neither requires too much manpower nor regular upgradation.

Why is the Delhi Police using facial recognition technology?

• The Delhi Police first obtained FRT for the purpose of tracing and identifying missing children.
  • In 2020, the Delhi Police stated that “though they obtained FRT as per the Sadhan Haldar direction which related specifically to finding missing children, they were using FRT for police investigations”.
  • Delhi Police has consequently used FRT for investigation purposes and also specifically during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, the 2021 Red Fort violence, and the 2022 Jahangirpuri riots.

Why is the Use of Facial Recognition Technology Harmful?

Inaccuracy & Misuse:

• Issues related to “Misidentification” due to inaccuracy of the technology.
• Issues related to “Mass Surveillance” due to misuse of the technology.

Race & Gender:

• It has also been reported that its accuracy rates fall starkly based on race and gender.
• This can result in a false positive, where a person is misidentified as someone else, or a false negative where a person is not verified as themselves.
• Cases of a false positive result can lead to bias against the individual who has been misidentified.

Exclusion:

• Cases of false negative results can also lead to exclusion of the individual from accessing essential schemes which may use FRT as a means of providing access.
• For example, failure of the biometric based authentication under Aadhaar which has led to many people being excluded from receiving essential government services which in turn has led to starvation deaths.

Violation to Privacy:

• Government although plans to address the question of privacy through the legal framework like data privacy regime, but keeping in mind the objectives it aims to achieve with the use of such technology, it comes into conflict with one another.

Reliability & Authenticity:

• As the data collected may be used in the court of law during the course of a criminal trial, the reliability and the admissibility of the data along with the standards and procedure followed would be taken into consideration.

Absence of Data Protection Law:

• FRT systems in the absence of data protection laws that would mandate necessary safeguards in the collection and storage of user data is also a point of concern.

Way Forward

• In this digital age, data is a valuable resource that should not be left unregulated. In this context, the time is right for India to have a robust data protection regime.
• The government would also have to respect the privacy of the citizens while strengthening the right to information.
• Every country has its own challenges which are uncomparable.

Supercharged Biotech Rice

Context

• Recently, the Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences have shown how a transcriptional regulator can boost grain yields and shorten the growth duration of rice.
• This ‘supercharged biotech rice’ yields 40% more grain.

Why are the Key Highlights of the Report?

• Supercharged Rice: The report has pointed out that giving a Chinese rice variety a second copy of one of its own genes has boosted its yield by up to 40%.
• When a second copy of a single gene (called OsDREB1C) is added to rice, it improves photosynthesis and nitrogen use, speeds up flowering and absorbing nitrogen more efficiently — offering larger and more abundant grains.
  • The change helps the plant absorb more fertilizer, boosts photosynthesis, and accelerates flowering, all of which could contribute to larger harvests.
• The researchers added the same ‘native’ gene again, and not any foreign one (as in the case of BT cotton or BT soybean). This method is best described as genetic modulation.
  • Gene modulation refers to the process of temporarily altering gene expression levels without making heritable changes to the underlying cellular DNA.
  • It is not a genetic modification (GM) and neither is the result of a transgenic plant, carrying elements from another donor.

Significance in India’s Context:

• This report is particularly relevant to India, which must aim to continue its world position in the production of rice and marketing.
• India is the world’s largest exporter of rice. It exported 18.75 million metric tons to over 150 countries during the year 2021-22, thereby earning $6.11 billion.
  • Vietnam was the second largest producer of rice.
• With growing demand in the coming years, strategies should be found to increase the production and export of rice and it has to be much more than the 18.75 million tons for India to continue and expand its role as the world’s largest producer and exporter of rice.
• India has some excellent rice researchers located in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab and Haryana, and genetic engineers in several laboratories across the country.
  • The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare can come together with the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and nutritionists from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) can support these researchers to augment India’s role as the major rice exporter in the world.

What are the Important Points about Cultivation of Rice?

• It is a kharif crop which requires high temperature, (above 25°C) and high humidity with annual rainfall above 100 cm.
• Rice is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas and the deltaic regions.
• Deep clayey and loamy soil is the ideal type of soil for growing rice.
• Leading producer states of rice are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab.
  • High yielding states are Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Kerala.
  • In southern states and West Bengal, the climatic conditions allow the cultivation of two or three crops of rice in an agricultural year.
  • In states like Assam, West Bengal and Odisha, three crops of paddy are grown in a year; these are Aus, Aman and Boro.
• It is the staple food crop of the majority of Indian people.
• India is the second largest producer of rice in the world. About one-fourth of the total cropped area in India is under rice cultivation.
• National Food Security Mission, Hybrid Rice Seed Production and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana are a few government initiatives to support rice cultivation.

GI Tag for Mithila Makhana

Context: The government has recently awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag to Mithila Makhana.

• The move is expected to help growers get the maximum price for their premium produce.

What is Understood by a Geographical Indication (GI) Tag?

About:

• Geographical Indication (GI) is an indication used to identify goods having special characteristics originating from a definite geographical territory.
• The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 seeks to provide for the registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods in India.
• It is governed and directed by the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
• It was decided and also stated under Articles 1 (2) and 10 of the Paris Convention that the protection of industrial Property and Geographical Indication are elements of Intellectual Property.
• It is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods).

Validity:

• This tag is valid for a period of 10 years following which it can be renewed.

Significance:

• Once a product gets this tag, any person or company cannot sell a similar item under that name.
• GI registration of a product provides it legal protection and prevention against unauthorised use by others.
• GI tag helps in promoting the exports of the product.
• It also provides comfort to customers about the authenticity of that product.

GI Registration:

• There is a proper process of registration of GI products which includes filing of application, preliminary scrutiny and examination, show cause notice, publication in the geographical indications journal, opposition to registration, and registration.
• Any association of persons, producers, organisation or authority established by or under the law can apply.
• The applicant must represent the interest of the producers.

GI Tag Products:

• Some famous goods which carry this tag include Basmati rice, Darjeeling Tea, Chanderi Fabric, Mysore Silk, Kullu Shawl, Kangra Tea, Thanjavur Paintings, Allahabad Surkha, Farrukhabad Prints, Lucknow Zardozi, Kashmir Saffron and Kashmir Walnut Wood Carving.

What do we need to Know about Mithila Makhana?

• Mithila Makhana or Makhan (botanical name: Euryale ferox Salisb.) is a special variety of aquatic fox nut cultivated in Mithila region of Bihar and Nepal.
• Makhana is the one of the three prestigious cultural identities of Mithila.
  • Pan, Makhan and Machh (fish) are the three prestigious cultural identity of Mithila.
• It is also very famous in Kojagara festival of Maithil Brahmins celebrated for newly married couples.
• Makhana contains protein and fiber, along with micronutrients like calcium, magnesium, iron, and phosphorus.

What Other Products of Bihar have GI Tag?

• GI tagging of products in Bihar has helped in brand building, creating local employment, creating a regional brand, generating spin-off effects in tourism, preserving traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions and conserving biodiversity.
• Many products from Bihar have been granted GI tag such as:
  • Bhagalpuri Jardalu Mango
  • Katarni Rice
  • Magahi Betel (Paan)
  • Shahi Litchi
  • Silao Khaja (a delicacy)
  • Madhubani Painting
  • Pipli Work
• In June 2022, the Geographical Indications (GI) Registry in Chennai accepted the initial proposal for conferring the GI tag to Nalanda's 'Bawan Buti' Saree, Gaya's 'Pattharkatti stone craft’ and Hajipur's 'Chiniya' variety of banana.
• There have also been proposal for providing GI Tag to three sweet delicacies of Bihar - Khurma, Tilkut and Balushahi.

Grameen Udyami Project

Context: Recently, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in partnership with Seva Bharti and Yuva Vikas Society, launched the second phase of the Grameen Udyami Project.

• Under the initiative, the endeavor is to multiskill India’s youth and impart functional skills to them for enabling livelihoods.

What is the National Skill Development Corporation?

• The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is a non-profit public limited company established on July 31, 2008, under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956.
• The Ministry of Finance established NSDC as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
• The Government of India, through the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), owns 49% of NSDC, while the private sector owns the remaining 51%.
• The organisation provides funding to develop scalable and successful initiatives for vocational training.

What is Grameen Udyami Project?

About:

• It is a unique multiskilling project, funded by NSDC that aims to train 450 tribal students in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
• The project is being implemented in six states— Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Gujarat.

Significance:

• There is a dire need to increase ownership at the tribal level so that there is awareness built around such schemes and initiatives.
  • As there is so much potential and ability in the tribal youth, all we need to do is lay down the right avenues for them to use their talent in the right places.
• This initiative will provide economic empowerment to our tribal population.

Objectives:

• Increase in Rural/Local Economy.
• Enhance employment opportunities.
• Reduce forced migration due to lack of local opportunities.
• Conservation of natural resources.

How will Grameen Udyami Project Work?

• Phase -1: Candidates were mobilized from rural and tribal areas of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. The transportation, boarding & lodging were provided to candidates so that they do not miss out on the learning opportunity due to lack of resources.
• Phase-2: The phase-II of the pilot project launched in Ranchi, which is being implemented by Yuva Vikas Society, through Seva Bharti Kendra in Ranchi. NSDC under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Enterprises (MSDE) has supported setting up of labs and classrooms through Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) in Seva Bharti Kendra Skill Development Center. 
• The training under the project will be conducted in the following Job roles which are relevant to the local economy.
  • Electrician & Solar PV Installation Technician.
  • Plumbing & Masonry.
  • Two-Wheeler Repair & Maintenance.
  • IT/ITES with e-Governance.
  • Farm Mechanization.

What are the Other Initiatives taken by the Government for Skill Development?

• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY).
• Rozgar Mela.
• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKK).
• Capacity Building Scheme.
• School Initiatives and Higher Education.
• India International Skill Centres (IISCs).
• Pre-Departure Orientation Training (PDOT).

Way Forward

• Compared to the national average, the contribution of organized sectors to tribal livelihoods is significantly lower due to a lack of skill and education.

Pandurang Khankhoje & Swami Vivekananda

Context

• Lok Sabha Speaker will travel to Mexico to unveil statues of Swami Vivekananda and Maharashtra-born freedom fighter and agriculturalist Pandurang Khankhoje (1883-1967).
• The Speaker’s visit is part of India's efforts to honor lesser-known Indian-origin leaders outside India.

Who was Pandurang Khankhoje?

Birth:

• Pandurang Khankhoje was born in Wardha, Maharashtra, in the late 19th century.

Revolutionary Connections:

• Pandurang Khankhoje came in contact with other revolutionaries early on.
• Hindu reformer Swami Dayanand and his Arya Samaj movement, which called for a spirit of reform and social change, became the hero to a young student group led by Khankhoje.
• Khankhoje was an ardent admirer of the French Revolution and of the American War of Independence.
• Before leaving India for training in abroad, he visited Bal Gangadhar Tilak, by who he was inspired.

Life Abroad:

• Khankhoje decided to go abroad for further training in revolutionary methods and militaristic strategy.
• After spending time with nationalists from Japan and China, Khankhoje eventually moved to the US, where he enrolled in college as a student of agriculture.
• A year later, he joined the Mount Tamalpais Military Academy in California to fulfil his original purpose of leaving India.

How was Khankhoje associated with the Indian Independence Movement?

Khankhoje & Ghadar Party:

• In the US, Khankhoje met Lala Har Dayal, an Indian intellectual teaching at Stanford University.
  • Har Dayal had begun a propaganda campaign, publishing a newspaper that featured patriotic songs and articles in the vernacular languages of India.
• This was the seed from which the Ghadar Party would emerge.
• Khankhoje was one of the founding members of the Ghadar Party, established by Indians living abroad in 1913, mostly belonging to Punjab.
  • Its aim was to lead a revolutionary fight against the British in India.

What is the Connection between Khankhoje and Mexico?

Connections with Mexicans in the US:

• At the military academy in the US, Khankhoje met many people from Mexico.
  • Khankhoje was inspired by “The Mexican Revolution of 1910” which led to the overthrow of the dictatorial regime.
• While he was reaching out to Indians working on farms in the US with the aim of discussing the idea of Indian independence with them, he met with Mexican workers as well.
  • He reached out to Bhikaji Cama in Paris, and met with Vladimir Lenin in Russia among other leaders, seeking support for India's Independence.

Life in Mexico:

• With the help of some friends in Mexico, he was appointed a professor at the National School of Agriculture in Chapingo, near Mexico City.
• He researched corn, wheat, pulses and rubber, developing frost and drought-resistant varieties, and was part of efforts to bring in the Green Revolution in Mexico.
  • Later on in the 20th Century, the American agronomist Dr Norman Borlaug, called the Father of the Green Revolution in India, brought the Mexican wheat variety to Punjab.
• Khankhoje was revered as an agricultural scientist in Mexico.
• The renowned Mexican artist Diego Rivera painted murals that featured Khankhoje, including one titled ‘Our Daily Bread’ that prominently depicted him breaking bread with people seated around a table.

Who was Swami Vivekananda?

Birth:

• Swami Vivekanand ,original name Narendranath Datta was born on 12th January, 1863.
• National Youth Day is held every year to observe the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
• In 1893, upon the request of Maharaja Ajit Singh of the Khetri State, he took the name ‘Vivekananda.’

Contributions:

• Introduced the world to the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga.
• Laid the greatest emphasis on education for the regeneration of our motherland. Advocated a man-making character-building education.
• Best known for his speech at the World Parliament of Religion in Chicago in 1893.
• Spelt out the four pathways of attaining moksha from the worldly pleasure and attachment in his books:
  • Raja-yoga
  • Karma-yoga
  • Jnana-yoga
  • Bhakti-yoga
• Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had called Vivekananda the “maker of modern India.”

Associated Organisations:

• He was the chief disciple of the 19th-century mystic Ramakrishna Paramhansa and established the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897.
• In 1899, he established Belur Math, which became his permanent abode.

Death:

• He died at Belur Math in 1902.
• Belur Math, located in West Bengal, is the headquarters of Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission.

What is the Ghadar Party?

• It was an Indian revolutionary organisation, with the aim to liberate India from British rule.
• ‘Ghadar’ – also written as ‘Ghadr’ in English – is an Urdu word for rebellion.
• The party was formed in the United States in 1913, by migrant Indians, mostly Punjabis. However, the party also included Indians from all parts of India.
• Motive was to wage a nationwide armed struggle against British colonialism in India.
• The party was established as the Hindi Association of Pacific Coast under the leadership of Lala Har Dayal with Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna as its president.
• The party is known for setting the foundation for future Indian revolutionary movements and served as a stepping stone for independence.
• Most members of the Ghadar party came from the peasantry who first began migrating from Punjab to cities in Asia like Hong Kong, Manila and Singapore at the dawn of the 20th century.
• Later, with the rise in the lumber industry in Canada and the US, many moved to North America, where they thrived – but also became victims of institutionalised racism.
• The Ghadar movement ‘inspired to transpose egalitarian values (Egalitarianism) of American culture in the social framework of colonial India’.

AK-203 Rifles

Context: The Indo-Russian joint venture “Indo-Russian Rifles Private Ltd (IRRPL)” will be manufacturing over 6.1 lakh AK-203 assault rifles costing over ₹5,000 crore in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.

• Training of Indian workers of the factory will begin shortly and the manufacturing process will reach 100% indigenisation in three years.
• The AK-203 assault rifles will replace the India-made INSAS assault rifles and the older AK-47.

What do we know about the Contract?

• Indo-Russian Rifles Private Ltd (IRRPL) was set up jointly between erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board OFB [now Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL) and Munitions India Limited (MIL)] of India and Rosoboronexport (RoE) and concern Kalashnikov of Russia.
• The Rs 5,124 crore deal was signed between India and Russia in December 2021.
  • It is the biggest defence deal between the two nations in recent years. The deal has a clause for complete technology transfer. The rifles will also be exported to friendly foreign nations.
• Kalashnikov has already delivered a batch of 70,000 rifles made in Russia as part of the larger AK-203 assault rifles order.

How has Indo-Russia Defence and Security Relations been?

• India-Russia military-technical cooperation has evolved from a buyer-seller framework to one involving joint research, development and production of advanced defence technologies and systems.
• Both countries regularly conduct the Tri-Services exercise ‘INDRA‘.
• The joint programmes between India and Russia include:
  • BrahMos cruise missile programme
  • 5th generation fighter jet programme
  • Sukhoi Su-30MKI programme
  • Ilyushin/HAL Tactical Transport Aircraft
  • KA-226T twin-engine utility helicopters
• The military hardware purchased/leased by India from Russia includes:
  • S-400 Triumf
  • Kamov Ka-226 200 to be made in India under the Make in India initiative
  • T-90S Bhishma
  • INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier programme
• Russia also plays a very important role in assisting the Indian Navy with its submarine programmes:
  • Indian Navy’s first submarine, ‘Foxtrot Class’ came from Russia.
  • India is dependent on Russia for its nuclear submarine programme.
  • INS Vikramaditya, the sole aircraft carrier operated by India, is also Russian in origin.
  • Nine of the fourteen conventional submarines operated by India are Russian.