UPSC QUIZ 06.12.2023

Explanation:

• Union Cabinet has approved the terms of reference of the 16th Finance Commission. However, details on its members and Chairperson as well as exact terms of reference are expected to be approved at a later date.

Major Terms of Reference for 16th Finance Commission

• Division of Tax Proceeds: Recommending the distribution of taxes between the Union Government and the States under Chapter I, Part XII of the Constitution.This includes the allocation of shares among the States from these tax proceeds.
• Principles for Grants-in-Aid: Establishing the principles governing grants-in-aid to the States from the Consolidated Fund of India.This encompasses determining the amounts to be provided to the States as grants-in-aid, specifically under Article 275 of the Constitution, for purposes beyond those outlined in the provisos to clause (1) of that article.

Explanation:

• India has been re-elected to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council, marking its continuous service at IMO.
• This re-election, part of the 2024–25 biennium, places India among the Category of 10 states with "the largest interest in international seaborne trade," reaffirming its pivotal role in global maritime affairs.

International Maritime Organisation

• The IMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that is responsible for regulating shipping and preventing marine pollution from ships.
• IMO was established in 1948 following a UN conference in Geneva and came into existence in 1958.

Members

• IMO has 175 Member States and three Associate Members, and its headquarters are in London, United Kingdom.
• India joined the IMO in 1959.

Explanation:

• India has been unanimously elected as a member representing the Asian region in the Executive Committee of Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) during its 46th meeting at Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) headquarters at Rome.
• India proposed the establishment of global standards for millets like Finger millet, Barnyard millet, Kodo millet, Proso millet, and Little millet, similar to group standards set for pulses.
• This proposal gained unanimous endorsement during the session.Codex currently has standards for Sorghum and Pearl Millet.

Codex Alimentarius Commission

• CAC is an international food standards body established jointly by the FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) in May 1963 with the objective of protecting consumer’s health and ensuring fair practices in food trade.

Recognition

• The Agreement on Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) recognizes Codex standards, guidelines and recommendations as reference standards for international trade and trade dispute settlement.

Explanation:

• Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajiv Chandrashekhar said the government wants to shape artificial intelligence in line with the global trend by developing the country's own independent AI infrastructure.

Main point

• Recently the government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IBM to create advanced foundational models in AI skills and ecosystem development as well as generic AI capabilities.
• AI computing company NVIDIA is helping the government and Indian companies including Infosys, Reliance and Tata in developing independent AI infrastructure.
• Anonymized personal data is required to develop large language models and datasets.
• The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act places a number of restrictions on companies on data processing due to privacy issues. Therefore, meaningful use of the dataset can be done only through the government.

Explanation:

• National Awards for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities for the year 2023 conferred by the President of India.
• The awards were presented by Smt Draupadi Murmu on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
• President awarded a total of 30 awards to individuals, institutions, organizations, states, and districts for their outstanding achievements and work toward the empowerment of persons with disabilities.
• She awarded nine organizations under the institutional category for excellence in empowering persons with disabilities.
• President said that about 15% of the total world population are persons with disabilities and their empowerment is a high priority.
• National Awards are a commendable medium for the empowerment of persons with disabilities as recognition of individual and institutional work encourages all.
• The first National Awards were given in 1969. These awards have been administered by the Indian government's Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.