Highlights
- India-Oman: PM Modi and Sultan Haitham bin Tariq concluded bilateral talks. Trade target: above $12 billion; strategic port access at Duqm reaffirmed.
- AI: Ola launched Krutrim, India's first homegrown large language model supporting 10 Indian languages.
- Marine archaeology: A Blue Dragon mosasaur fossil discovered in Japan is 72 million years old and displays features previously unknown to science.
- Financial regulation: RBI prohibited regulated entities from investing in AIFs with downstream investments in their debtor companies, closing a loan evergreening route.
1. India-Oman visit: full debrief
GS area: International Relations
PM Modi's bilateral with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq produced several outcomes:
- Trade: Bilateral trade exceeded $12 billion in FY2022-23. Both sides discussed expanding the India-Oman FTA (a comprehensive economic partnership agreement is under negotiation).
- Duqm port: India reaffirmed access to the Duqm special economic zone for logistics and naval purposes. Located south of the Strait of Hormuz.
- Diaspora: About 7 lakh Indians in Oman. Oman is a significant source of remittances to Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
- Defence: The Joint Military Cooperation Committee structure was reviewed. India and Oman hold joint exercises.
- Strait of Hormuz: Oman controls the southern shore of the Strait of Hormuz through its Musandam exclave. India imports a fifth of its oil through this strait.
Static linkage: India's foreign policy, West Asia, Indian Ocean Region.
2. Krutrim AI: India's first LLM
GS area: Science and Technology, Economy
Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal launched Krutrim, described as India's first indigenous large language model:
- Multilingual capability: Supports 10 Indian languages.
- Training: Trained on proprietary datasets designed to address India's linguistic diversity and cultural context.
- Separation from Ola: Krutrim was set up as an independent AI company separate from Ola's mobility operations.
- Context: The launch followed India's IndiaAI mission and reflected a government push for indigenous AI development. India has the third-largest pool of AI researchers globally.
Static linkage: Digital economy, artificial intelligence, science and technology.
3. Dare to Dream (D2D) scheme: DRDO innovation support
GS area: Government Schemes, Science and Technology
The Defence Research and Development Organisation's Dare to Dream scheme received attention:
- Launched: 2019, in memory of former President and DRDO scientist APJ Abdul Kalam.
- Target: Individual innovators, startups, and entrepreneurs (age 18 and above).
- Focus: Emerging technologies for defence and aerospace applications.
- Structure: Grants and mentorship for early-stage innovations that address specific defence technology gaps identified by DRDO.
Static linkage: Science and technology, defence R&D, startup ecosystem.
4. Buckingham Canal and Ennore Creek: oil spill impact
GS area: Environment, Disaster Management
An oil spill from the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited refinery, aggravated by flooding from Cyclone Michaung, contaminated the Buckingham Canal and Ennore Creek:
- Buckingham Canal: A 796-kilometre navigation canal running along the Coromandel Coast of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Built during the British period.
- Ennore Creek: An estuarine water body near Chennai. Home to extensive mangrove cover.
- Ecological role: These water bodies form part of the natural buffer protecting the Araniyar-Kosasthalaiyar Basin aquifers that supply Chennai.
- Pollution background: The area already suffers from industrial effluents, fly ash discharge from thermal plants, and hot water release from the Ennore thermal station despite NGT directions.
Static linkage: Environment, coastal ecology, disaster and industrial pollution.
5. Logistics costs in India
GS area: Economy
A government assessment updated India's logistics cost data:
- FY2021-22: Logistics costs equalled 7.8-8.9 per cent of GDP.
- Earlier estimate (2011-12): 8.7-9.9 per cent of GDP.
- World Bank Logistics Performance Index 2023: India ranked 38 out of 139 countries. This is a significant improvement from rank 44 in 2018.
- PM GatiShakti: The National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity, launched October 2021, aims to cut logistics costs by integrating rail, road, port, airport, and inland waterway data on one platform.
- Target: Reduce logistics costs to 7-8 per cent of GDP by 2030.
Static linkage: Economy, infrastructure, PM GatiShakti.
6. Tax Inspectors Without Borders: India as partner country
GS area: International Relations, Economy
The Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) programme placed India in a new role:
- TIWB: A joint initiative of the UN Development Programme and OECD to transfer tax audit knowledge to developing countries through embedded advisory work.
- How it works: Expert tax auditors from partner administrations work alongside auditors in programme countries for 12-18 months, sharing practical knowledge through "learning by doing."
- India's new role: India was selected as a Partner Administration, providing tax expertise to other developing countries. Previously India was a recipient of TIWB assistance.
Static linkage: International taxation, OECD, India's foreign engagement.
7. Briefly noted
- Blue Dragon (Wakayama Soryu) mosasaur: A new species of mosasaur discovered in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. Scientific name: Megapterygius wakayamaensis. Age: 72 million years. Size: comparable to a great white shark. Distinctive features: long rear flippers and a shark-like dorsal fin, unlike any other known mosasaur.
- UPI Tap and Pay: BHIM and Paytm enabled NFC-based UPI payments for contactless transactions of up to Rs 500 using UPI LITE. Requires an NFC-capable smartphone.
Practice MCQs