Relevance IN - Prelims ( about national Artificial Intelligence Portal + responsible AI for youth programme) + Mains ( GS III Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology)
What's the NEWS

• The Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Law and Justice and Communications launched India's national Artificial Intelligence Portal called www.ai.gov.in

• This portal has been jointly developed by the Ministry of Electronics and IT and IT Industry.
• National e-Governance Division of Ministry of Electronics and IT and NASSCOM from the IT industry will jointly run this portal.
• This portal shall work as a one stop digital platform for AI related developments in India, sharing of resources such as articles, startups, investment funds in AI, resources, companies and educational institutions related to AI in India.
• The portal will also share documents, case studies, research reports etc. It has section about learning and new job roles related to AI.

• The aim of this Program is to give the young students of our country a platform and empower them with appropriate new age tech mind-set, relevant AI skill-sets and access to required AI tool-sets to make them digitally ready for the future.
• The Program has been created and launched by the National e-Governance Division, Ministry of Electronics & IT in collaboration with Intel India, with support from Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSE&L), Ministry of Human Resource Development.
• DoSE&L will help reach-out to State Education Departments to nominate teachers as per eligibility criteria.
• "Responsible AI for Youth" will empower the youth to become AI ready and help reduce the skill gap, while enabling youth to create meaningful social impact solutions.
• The Program is designed to reach out to students from Government schools pan India and provide them with an opportunity to become part of the skilled workforce in an inclusive manner.

• It is open to students of classes 8 - 12 from Central and State government-run schools (including KVS, NVS, JNV) from across the country - all 28States and 8Union Territories
• It will be implemented in a phase-wise manner and in its first phase, each of the State Education Department will nominate 10 teachers as per the eligibility criteria.
• Teachers may also self nominate themselves by fulfilling the eligibility criteria.
• These teachers will be provided orientation sessions aimed to help them understand the premise and identify 25-50 potential students for the Program.
• The identified students will attend online training sessions on AI and submit their ideas through a 60 seconds video explaining a proposed AI enabled solution.
• Top 100 ideas will be shortlisted and these students will be invited to attend residential boot camps or online sessions to take them through a deep dive AI journey.
  
  

Relevance IN - Prelims(about Jyeshtha Ashtami)
What's the NEWS

• Zyeth Atham also known as Jyeshtha Ashtami, is the eighth day of the bright half of Jyeshtha (May-June) month.
• It is the traditional gathering of Kashmiri Pandit community at Mata Kheer Bhawani Temple or Tulmula Mandir in Kashmir
• On this auspicious day, a grand feast and fest is held every year at Mata Kheer Bhawani Temple in Kashmir, also known as Tulmula.
• It is celebrated with full gusto and vigour, as it marks the pradurbhava of the Goddess Ragnya (Kheer Bhavani or Ragnya Bhavani Mata).

Prelims Factoids
UP to have 800-km Herbal belt
Relevance IN - Prelims(about the Herbal belt)
What's the NEWS

• The Uttar Pradesh government will develop 800 km roads as Herbal belt with medicinal and herbal trees along both sides of the road.

Know! about the Herbal road

• These herbal roads will have trees like Peepal, Neem, Sahjan along with other herb varieties like Brahmi, Ashwagandha and Jatrofa.
• These plants will provide raw material for the medicines and will also help in curbing the erosion of land.
• This scheme will help both development and beautification of the area and bring medicinal benefits along with promoting bio diversity.
• These 800-kilometre roads will be along national and state highways passing through state and the herbal garden along with them will keep air free from pollution, bacteria and will also keep other diseases at bay.

Health
COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP)
Relevance IN - Prelims(about C-TAP + Solidarity Call to Action
What's the NEWS

• Thirty countries and multiple international partners and institutions have signed up to support the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) an initiative aimed at making vaccines, tests, treatments and other health technologies to fight COVID-19 accessible to all.

Know! about COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP)

• The COVID-19 Technology Access Pool will ensure the latest and best science benefits all of humanity
• Vaccines, tests, diagnostics, treatments and other key tools in the coronavirus response must be made universally available as global public goods
• The COVID-19 (Technology) Access Pool will be voluntary and based on social solidarity.
• It will provide a one-stop shop for scientific knowledge, data and intellectual property to be shared equitably by the global community.
• The aim is to accelerate the discovery of vaccines, medicines and other technologies through open-science research, and to fast-track product development by mobilizing additional manufacturing capacity.
• This will help ensure faster and more equitable access to existing and new COVID-19 health products.

Solidarity Call to Action

• WHO, Costa Rica and all the co-sponsor countries have also issued a "Solidarity Call to Action" asking relevant stakeholders to join and support the initiative
• The ‘Solidarity Call to Action' promotes a one-size-fits all model that disregards the specific circumstances of each situation, each product and each country.

International
US has joined the G7 nations to counter China's use of artificial intelligence.
Relevance IN - Prelims(about Global Partnership on AI + about G7) + Mains (GS II international organisations)
What's the NEWS

• The US has joined an international panel for setting ethical guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence.
• The Trump administration had earlier dismissed the idea.
• The Trump administration had been the lone holdout among leaders of the Group of Seven - the world's wealthiest democracies - in setting up the Global Partnership on AI.
• The partnership launched after a virtual meeting between national technology ministers.
• It was nearly two years after the leaders of Canada and France announced they were forming a group to guide the responsible adoption of AI based on shared principles of "human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation and economic growth.

US President Donald Trump wants to reformat G7

• US President Donald Trump said he will delay the G7 summit scheduled to take place in June and invite other countries -- including Russia, South Korea, Australia and India to join an expanded summit in the fall.
• It could happen in September, either before or after the UN General Assembly

Know! about G7

• The G7 major advanced countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- hold annual meetings to discuss international economic coordination.
• The Group of Seven is an informal block of international intergovernmental economic organization consisting of the seven largest IMF- advanced economies in the world
• G7 meets annually to discuss issues such as global economic governance, international security and energy policy.

Prelims Factoids
Tropical Race 4 (TR4)

Relevance IN - Prelims(about Fusarium wilt Tropical Race 4 (TR4) + biopriming
What's the NEWS

• Fusarium wilt TR4, a novel fungus strain that has devastated plantations across the globe this year, is setting up new hotspots and threatening output in India, the world's largest producer of bananas.

Know! about Tropical Race 4 (TR4)

• The strain, Tropical Race 4 (TR4), was first identified in Taiwan, and has jumped from Asia to the Middle East and Africa, reaching as far as Latin America.
• It cripples plantations by first attacking the leaves, which turn yellow from their trailing edges before wilting away.
• There is no effective remedy yet. One could say it is the Covid-19 of the plant world.
• Hotspots have been found in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh
• According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, TR4 is one of the "the most destructive of all plant diseases".
• India produces 27 million tonnes of bananas annually and grows about 100 named cultivars (varieties).
• Equador, the largest exporter, is currently the epicentre and scientists haven't been able to ascertain how TR4 entered India.

Fusarium wilt

• Fusarium wilt is not new. It entirely wiped out Gros Michel, the dominant export variety of bananas in 1950s.
• It was in response to this that a new resistant variety, Grand Nain, came up. That has now fallen to TR4.
• The challenge is to now identify or develop new resistant varieties.

Know! about Grain Nain variety of banana

• Grain Nain accounts for 55% of the banana area in the country and accounts for 62% of commerce, including exports
• Katihar and Purnea in Bihar and Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh are the hotspots in India.
• In UP, several districts are thought to be affected

Know! about biopriming

• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research is advocating a set of measures, known as "biopriming".
• It has asked farmers whose plantations have been affected to abandon them.
• They must grow rice for a year or two before returning to banana.

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