Syllabus: GS-III

Subject: Science & Technology (T)

Topic: Emerging Technologies

Issue: Deepfakes

Synopsis:

• A deepfake is an artificial image or video generated by a special kind of machine learning called “deep” learning.

Issues:

• Liars Dividend : Anyone who is caught on tape doing something wrong will be able to dismiss the evidence of wrongdoing by claiming it is just another deep fake.
  • Evidence can be so easily falsified that nothing can be relied upon to serve as legitimate evidence of wrongdoing.
• Misinformation and Fake News
• Political Manipulation
• Erosion of trust in media and information sources

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-III

Subject: Economy

Topic: Indices and reports

Issue:  World Economic Outlook

Context: Latest “World Economic Outlook” report released by IMF.

Synopsis:

• The combination of steady growth and falling inflation has raised hopes for a so-called soft landing for the global economy (soft landing is a slowdown sufficient to contain inflation without causing a recession).
• Raised India’s growth projection to 6.7% in FY24 due to “resilient domestic demand”.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-I

Subject: History-Art and Culture

Topic: Art and architecture

Issue: World Heritage Sites

Context: India has nominated the “Maratha Military Landscapes” for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage list for 2024-25.

Maratha Military Landscapes:

• These are a network of forts that showcase the strategic military powers of Maratha rule.(Examples – Khanderi, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad forts)
• Developed between the 17th and 19th centuries.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-II

Subject: Society and Social Justice (S)

Topic: Welfare schemes, mechanisms, laws and institutions related to Women.

Issue: Female Labour Force Participation Rate

Context: The Union Ministries of Labour & Employment and Women & Child Development have started a joint survey on increasing women participation in the workforce.

Synopsis:

• As per Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) the women participation in labour force was.

(Data for Mains)

• Labour codes – specific provisions for safeguarding the employment of women workers:
  • The Code on Social Security, 2020 provides for
    • enhanced paid maternity leave,
    • provision for mandatory crèche facilities in establishments having 50 or more employees,
    • permitting women workers in the night shifts with adequate safety measures, etc.
  • The Code on Occupational Safety, Health And Working Conditions, 2020 has proposed tweaks in employment terms and conditions for women workers in the above-ground mines.
  • The Code on Wages 2019 has provisions for no gender-based discrimination for wages in an establishment for similar nature of work i.e. equal pay for equal work.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-III

Subject: Science & Technology

Topic: Space Technology

Issue: Astronomy Concepts

Synopsis:

• The mass determines a star’s life cycle.
• Neutron Stars: When stars run out of fuel, their cores collapse under their own gravity.
• If the core is less dense, it becomes a neutron star, else it becomes a black hole.
  • Event Horizon:It is the point of no-return where the gravitational pull becomes so immense that not even light can escape.
  •  
  • Singularity is the heart of the black hole, a point of infinite density where all the matter that fell in is concentrated.
  • Chandrasekhar limit:Only stars whose mass is greater than 44 times of the sun turns into neutron stars/blackholes.
• Black Hole mass gap: Mass gap between heaviest possible neutron stars, (2.2 solar masses) and the lightest black holes(5 solar masses).
• 
• Pulsars:Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars with strong magnetic fields that blast out pulses of radiation at regular intervals ranging from seconds to milliseconds.
• Millisecond Pulsars: Rotate significantly faster, with periods less than about 10 milliseconds.
• Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity : It suggests that instead of thinking of gravity as a force between masses, it is the bending or warping of space and time.
  • Space and time are not separate entities but are interconnected called ad “spacetime”.
  • Massive objects, like planets and stars, warp or curve the fabric of spacetime around them.
  • Predicted the existence of gravitational waves – ripples in spacetime caused by the acceleration of massive objects.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-II;  

Subject: Society and Social Justice

Topic:  Welfare schemes, mechanisms, laws, and institutions related to minorities.

Issue: Inclusion of  AMU to the list of Institutions of National Importance.

Context: Ongoing Supreme Court dispute over Aligarh Muslim University’s minority status and reservation implications raises complex constitutional questions.

Government’s Position:

• Institutions recognized as institutions of national importance, such as AMU, must reflect the national structure.
• Declaring AMU as a minority institution would imply no reservation for SC, ST, and SEBC categories, raising concerns about social justice and equality.

Petitions and Arguments:

• Petitions challenging AMU’s minority status were filed in the 93rd amendment.
• Despite no reservation, approximately 70-80% of students in AMU are Muslims.
• SC erred in assuming Muslims were a minority in 1920 when AMU was established.
• Article 30 rights cannot be extended retroactively without determining minority status at the time of establishment.

Conclusion:

Overall, the case raises important questions about the intersection of minority rights, educational institutions’ status, and constitutional provisions regarding reservation and social justice.

Article/Judgement in News (Mains)

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus: GS-III

Subject: Environment

Topic: Species in News.

Issue: A survey report on Snow Leopard.

Context: According to a first-of-its-kind, four-year-long estimation exercise, India has an estimated 718 snow leopards in the wild.

Key points highlighted by the survey:

• India is home to an estimated 10% of the global Snow Leopard population.
• The highest number of snow leopards were found in Ladakh, followed by Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Jammu and Kashmir.
• It is a collaborative effort involving various organizations including the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the World Wide Fund for Nature-India, and the Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysuru.

• Faces threats from factors such as human-wildlife conflict, poaching, and habitat loss.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS- II

Subject: International Relations

Topic: Agreements Affecting India’s interests

Issue: Sanctions on Venezuela

Implications of US sanctions:

• May reduce international trade with that particular country, by denying investment, foreign exchange or credit to the target country.

India’s oil imports from Venezuela:

• India is the world’s third-largest consumer of crude oil and depends on imports to meet over 85 percent of its requirements.
• Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world.
• Venezuela was India’s fifth largest oil supplier in 2019, but imports stopped after US sanctions.
• Hence re-imposition of sanctions doesn’t largely affect India.

Source: Indian Express