GS Analyst
Daily Current Affairs

Dozens of archaeological sites in Afghanistan have been bulldozed to allow systematic looting, according to researchers at the University of Chicago.

Key-highlights of the Researchers’ findings

• The analysis of satellite photos provides the first definitive photographic evidence that looting patterns that began under the previous government have continued since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
• Ancient settlements dating back to the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age - some earlier than 1000BC - are among those they say have been damaged.
• Most of the sites identified are in northern Afghanistan's Balkh region, which more than two millennia ago was the heartland of Bactria.

New pattern in the Balkh region

• The researchers from the University of Chicago's Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation have identified more than 29,000 archaeological sites across Afghanistan, helped by satellite imagery and other tools.
• But they spotted a new pattern in the Balkh region from 2018 onwards.
• They have identified specks on the images that they are confident are bulldozers because of the way they appear and disappear over time, and the tracks they leave in their wake.
• These freshly bulldozed areas then appear in later images, covered with pits dug by looters, Prof Gil Stein, the centre's director explained.
• But only 97km (60 miles) away lies Tela Tepe, where a hoard of 2,000-year-old Bactrian gold was discovered in 1978.
• The "Hill of Gold" contained 20,000 rare items including gold jewellery, an intricate crown and coins, dubbed the Lost Treasures of Afghanistan.
• Balkh, including northern Afghanistan's largest city Mazar-i-Sharif, was among the first areas to fall to the Taliban before they captured the capital Kabul in August 2021.
• Bamiyan Buddhas: Back in 2001, the Taliban caused shock around the world when they blew up the 1,500-year-old Bamiyan Buddhas, once the largest standing Buddha statues in the world, during their first stint in power.

India and Greece agreed to bolster cooperation in areas ranging from defence manufacturing and trade to connectivity and to speedily finalise a migration and mobility pact as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with his visiting Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

• Strategic partnership: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is the first Greek premier to travel to India in 16 years, and his trip is a follow-up to Modi’s visit to Athens last August, the first by an Indian premier in four decades.
  • At the time, the two sides upgraded their ties to a strategic partnership.
• The recent discussions provided the two leaders an opportunity to assess the progress made since then.

Key-takeaways of the Talk

• Defence: The two sides agreed to link their defence industries.
• Range of sectors for collaboration: The two sides identified new opportunities in pharmaceuticals, agriculture, medical devices, technology, innovation and space to give new energy to their cooperation.
  • They also discussed ways to boost cooperation in shipping and connectivity.
• India welcomed Greece’s “positive role” in the Indo-Pacific and its decision to join the India-led Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).

• There was also agreement on cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean, and Greece can become an important partner in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) launched during India’s G20 presidency last year.

Why is Greece important fir India?

• Strategic location: Greece’s strategic location in the Mediterranean Sea makes it a major player in the global shipping industry.
  • The country’s shipowners own roughly one-fifth of the world’s shipping fleet and almost 60% of the European Union’s fleet, according to the International Trade Administration, a US government agency.
• Strong play in IMEC: The country is expected to be a key player in IMEC, which will help facilitate export of Indian goods to the European markets.

What has been decided for the likely future?

• Migration and mobility pact: The two sides decided to conclude the migration and mobility partnership agreement between the two countries as soon as possible. The mobility pact will be a key step towards strengthening cooperation on legal migration, fighting human trafficking and offering young Indians an opportunity to work in Greece.
• Doubling trade: The discussion pushed for the two sides to double their trade – currently worth about $2 billion – before the target year of 2030. 

The government seems to have fast-tracked its free trade talks with the UK, with the PMO having reviewed the progress recently and a delegation already in the UK to iron out differences.

What is Free Trade Agreement?

• It is a pact between two or more nations to reduce barriersto imports and exports among them.
• Under a free trade policy, goods and services can be bought and sold across international borders with little or no government tariffs, quotas, subsidies, or prohibitionsto inhibit their exchange.
• The concept of free trade is the opposite of trade protectionism or economic isolationism.                             

What are the challenges?

• Anti-immigrants stance: The political atmosphere in the UK remains heated with an increasing anti-immigrants stance.
• Recession in UK: The UK’s economy dipped into a recession amid high interest rates and spending cutbacks.
• Tariff regime: India’s tariff regime has been a concern for trade partners as India has one of the highest import tax rates in the world.
  • While the average tariff on goods imported from India into the UK is 4.2 per cent, the average tariff in India on goods imported from the UK is 14.6 per cent.

How important is this deal?

• To compensate passed agreements: It is crucial for India to sign the FTA as it has passed on regional trade agreements such as the China led-Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and has also not decided to join the US led-Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF’s) trade pillar.
• To stay ahead of competitors: Indian competitors such as Vietnam and other South Asian countries are inserting themselves in the global supply chain with multiple FTAs and regional trade deals.
• Economic benefits: The India-UK FTA will be the first full-fledged FTA with a developed country which could accrue significant benefits in the service sector and several labour intensive sectors such as textile and leather industry.

The Aadhaar card has become a crucial document in India, and children are no exception. For kids below 5 years old, a special blue-colored Aadhaar card, called Baal Aadhaar, is issued.

What is Aadhaar?

• Aadhaaris one of the most vital KYC documents in the country for availing of government subsidies and benefits of various government-run welfare schemes.
• It is considered to be an important identity proof document across sectors as it includes important details of citizens like full name, permanent address, and date of birth, linked to a unique 12-digit number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India(UIDAI).

What is Baal Aadhaar (Blue Aadhaar card)?

• In 2018, the UIDAI introduced the concept of the ‘Baal Aadhaar’ card specifically tailored for children under the age of five.
• The Baal Aadhaar card is blue in colour, unlike the regular white Aadhaar card for adults.
• This card also contains a 12-digit unique identification number for a child below 5 years.
• Features of Blue Aadhaar card:
  • Unlike adults, no biometric data of the child is required for issuing the card.
  • His/her UID is processed based on the demographic information and facial photograph linked with the UID of their parents.
  • But the child needs to update his/her biometric data of ten fingers, iris and facial photographs, when he/she turns five and again at the age of 15, otherwise the card will become invalid. 
  • The biometric data update for the teen Aadhaar cardholders is free.

What is the significance of Blue Aadhaar card?

• Government schemes: The card opens doors to a plethora of government assistance programmes.
• Scholarship: It also facilitates the provision of EWS scholarships while aiding the government in distinguishing between fraudulent and legitimate students.
  • Mandatory requirement: Moreover, many schools are now mandating the presentation of Blue Aadhaar cards during the admission process.

Drought conditions in the Panama Canal are challenging supply chains that rely on this important waterway to rethink their strategies to move product as shallower-than-usual waters have reduced the number of vessels allowed to traverse the canal per day and restricted maximum ship weights.

What is Panama Canal?

• The Panama Canal was among the defining engineering achievements of the 20th century.
• Completed in: 1914
• Length: 82-kilometre long 
• Connecting Points: The Canal connects the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean via one of the narrowest isthmi in the world.
• Physical features: The Canal’s principal physical features are
  • Gatun Lake, and the central man-made lake stretching nearly all the way across the Isthmus;
  • Gaillard Cut, the eight-mile-long excavation through the Continental Divide that extends Gatun Lake to Pedro Miguel Locks
  • the locks on both sides of the Isthmus that raise ships between sea level and the lake (Gatun Locks on the Atlantic and Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks on the Pacific)
  • the ports of Balboa on the Pacific and Cristobal on the Atlantic

Mapping the Traffic

• Since its completion, it has served as one of the world’s most important shipping routes, providing the fastest way to sail between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
• More than 14,000 ships crossed the canal in 2022. Container ships are the most common users of the Panama Canal and transport more than 40% of consumer goods traded between Northeast Asia and the U.S. East Coast.
• The global waterway handles an estimated 5% of world trade. If the situation remains the same, there will be expensive freight costs.

Why is it facing issue?

• Low rainfall: there has been 30 percent below average this year, causing water levels to plunge in the lakes that feed the canal and its mighty locks.
• El Niño: The immediate cause is the El Niño climate phenomenon, which initially causes hotter and drier weather in Panama.
• Climate change: Climate change may also be prolonging dry spells and raising temperatures in

The Union Cabinet approved the amendment in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy on space sector.  Now, the satellites sub-sector has been divided into three different activities with defined limits for foreign investment in each such sector.

How Indian Space Policy 2023 focused on enhancing private partnership?

• The Indian Space Policy 2023 was notified as an overarching, composite and dynamic framework to implement the vision for unlocking India’s potential in Space sector through enhanced private participation.
• The said policy aims to:
  • augment space capabilities
  • develop a flourishing commercial presence in space
  • use space as a driver of technology development and derived benefits in allied areas
  • pursue international relations and create an ecosystem for effective implementation of space applications among all stakeholders

What are the recent changes made in the FDI Policy?

• As per the existing FDI policy, FDI is permitted in establishment and operation of Satellites through the Government approval route  
• In line with the vision and strategy under the Indian Space Policy 2023, the Union Cabinet has eased the FDI policy on Space sector by prescribing liberalized FDI thresholds for various sub-sectors/activities.
• Under the amended FDI policy, 100% FDI is allowed in space sector. The liberalized entry routes under the amended policy are aimed to attract potential investors to invest in Indian companies in space.
• The entry route for the various activities under the amended policy are as follows:
  1. Upto 74% under Automatic route: Satellites-Manufacturing & Operation, Satellite Data Products and Ground Segment & User Segment. Beyond 74% these activities are under government route.
  2. Upto 49% under Automatic route: Launch Vehicles and associated systems or subsystems, Creation of Spaceports for launching and receiving Spacecraft. Beyond 49% these activities are under government route.
  3. Upto 100% under Automatic route: Manufacturing of components and systems/ sub-systems for satellites, ground segment and user segment.

What are the benefits of this amendment?

• Multiple benefits: This increased private sector participation would help to
  • generate employment
  • enable modern technology absorption
• Integration into global chain: It is expected to integrate Indian companies into global value chains.
• Self-reliant sector: With this, companies will be able to set up their manufacturing facilities within the country duly encouraging 'Make In India (MII)' and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiatives of the Government.

Google has unveiled Gemma, a new series of open models designed to support developers and researchers in responsibly building AI systems.

What is Gemma?

• The name “Gemma” is derived from the Latin word for “precious stone”.
• It is a set of lightweight models inspired by Google’s Gemini models, developed by Google DeepMind and other teams across the company.
• Performance and Responsible Design: Gemma models, despite their lightweight design, offer top-tier performance compared to larger models. They can run directly on developer devices and surpass larger models on key benchmarks while ensuring safe and responsible outputs.

Key Features of Gemma

• Two Sizes:Gemma 2B and Gemma 7B come with pre-trained and instruction-tuned variants.
• Responsible AI Toolkit:Google offers tools supporting safer AI applications with Gemma.
• Framework Support:Inference and supervised fine-tuning (SFT) toolchains are provided for major frameworks like JAX, PyTorch, and TensorFlow.
• Easy Deployment:Gemma models can run on various platforms and integrate seamlessly with tools like Colab and Kaggle.
• Commercial Usage:Gemma permits responsible commercial usage and distribution for all organizations.

History (GS-I)

Gulbadan Begum

In the annals of history, where the exploits of men are often heralded above all, the story of Gulbadan Begum, a Mughal princess of unparalleled courage and the first female historian of the empire, emerges as a beacon of inspiration.

About

In 1576, Gulbadan Begum defied societal norms and undertook a daring six-year voyage to Mecca.

• This journey was not merely a pilgrimage to Mecca but a daring adventure that challenged the norms of her time and showcased her profound bravery, kindness, and desire for freedom.
• Her memoir,Humayun nama, offers rare insights into the Mughal empire from a female perspective, challenging male-dominated historical narratives.

International Relations (GS-II)

India-China’s fresh round of military talks

India and China failed to make much headway in 21st round of India-China corps commander level meeting to resolve border issues in eastern Ladakh since the Galwan face-off in 2020.

India-China Border and dispute

The India-China border is divided into three sectors

• Western:The boundary dispute in the Western Sector pertains to the Johnson Line proposed by the British in the 1860s that extended up to the Kunlun Mountains and put Aksai Chin in the then princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Middle:In the Middle Sector, the dispute is a minor one. It is the only one where India and China have exchanged maps on which they broadly agree.
• Eastern:The disputed boundary in the Eastern Sector of the India-China border is over the MacMahon Line.

Science & Technology (GS-III)

New naval base to come up in Lakshadweep

With strategic priorities changing, India will soon have two new military formations as the Indian Navy is slated to open a new base, INS Jatayu, in Lakshadweep

About

• The new naval base will allow the Indian Navy to deploy some of its assets in the Arabian Sea islands, keeping a close watch on the traffic passing through the nine-degree channel, a crucial maritime route through which billions of dollars' worth of commercial trade transits.

Science & Technology (GS-III)

European Remote Sensing 2 (ERS-2)

After 16 years of operation, a defunct satellite, ERS-2 spacecraft, burnt up in the atmosphere over the Pacific.

About

• European Remote Sensing 2 (ERS-2) was launched in 1995, retired in 2011, and has been gradually making its way back to Earth since then.
• Over its 16-year life, the ERS-2 collected information on climate change and the Earth's atmosphere. 

Space Junk

• Orbital debris, also known as space junk, can range from defunct satellites or small fragments of rockets or satellites.
• Since the dawn of the space age in the 1950s, humankind has launched almost 50,000 tons of material into space.
• About 10,000 tons remains in orbit

Personality in News

Fali Nariman  (1929-2024)

Fali Nariman passed away at the age of 95, leaving behind a legacy of remarkable achievements and a profound impact on the country's judicial system.

About

• Fali Nariman (Fali as everybody called him) began his practice in the Bombay High Court and soon became a leading lawyer.
• When Emergency was declared in 1975, he put in his resignation.
  • Given the times, it was brave of him but clearly, his conscience did not permit him to represent an authoritarian regime.
• He made significant contributions to the evolution of law and fought for human rights in India, England, and America.
• He was part of historic judicial proceedings like the Golaknath case and Kesavananda Bharati case.
• Nariman’s contribution to the Indian judiciary is majorly embodied in the three cases that established and upheld the Collegium system of appointing judges.
• He served as the Additional Solicitor General of India from 1972 to 1975.
• He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2007. 
• He also served as the
  • President of the Bar Association of India
  • Vice-Chairman of the Internal Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce
  • honorary member of the International Commission of Jurists from
  • member of the  London Court of International Arbitration

Personality in News

Ameen Sayani (1932-2024)

Ameen Sayani, a pioneering radio presenter who drew in generations of listeners in India with his melodic voice on a radio show that became a national phenomenon, died in Mumbai.= 

About

• Sayani was one of the most recognizable voices in Indian radio as the host of one of the first radio shows in the country.
• He showcased songs featured in Hindi movies for more than 42 years, helping establish a place for film music in India’s popular culture.
• He hosted the program on Radio Ceylon, one of the oldest radio stations in the world, based in what is now Sri Lanka. 

Economy (GS-III)

Cooling Inflation

Inflation has cooled significantly in recent months, yet many people are still paying more for a lot of things.

What is Cooling Inflation?

• Cooling or easing inflation doesn't actually mean prices are falling.
• It just means prices are rising more slowly.

Economy (GS-III)

Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for Sugar Season 2024-25 at ? 340/quintal at sugar recovery rate of 10.25%.

Sugar Production in India

• India is the world’s largest producer and consumerof sugar. Being on the top, it is required to produce enough to meet its huge domestic demand.
• The country's sugar production dipped 2.48 per cent to 22.36 million tonnes till February 15 of the ongoing 2023-24 marketing year.