 Good evening aspirants, I welcome you all to the Hindu Daily News Analysis brought to you by Shankar IA's Academy for the newspaper dated 16th of June 2023. Displayed here are the list of articles that we will take up for discussion today. Without much delay, we will start with the first article discussion. Now take a look at this article from the text and context page. This article is talking about the issues surrounding the national institutional ranking framework. Now in this discussion we will see what is this NIRF and we will also understand the points provided in this article. First let us start with NIRF. See the National Institutional Ranking Framework in short NIRF was established by the Ministry of Education in the year 2016. The NIRF outlines a methodology to rank higher education institutions across the country. So to put it simply, the NIRF is a ranking methodology that was adopted to rank higher education institutions in India. Note that the NIRF ranking will be released every year by the Ministry of Education. Currently the NIRF releases rankings across various categories. These categories include overall category, research institutions, universities and colleges. Apart from this, the ranking is also released for specific disciplines like engineering, management, pharmacy, law etc. See the NIRF rankings are an important resource for the students to know about the efficiency and position of higher education institutions in India. Now how does the NIRF rank institutes? See the NIRF ranks the educational institutes based on their total score. To determine this score the NIRF uses 5 indicators and each of these indicator has a certain weightage. The 5 indicators are teaching, learning and resource and this is provided 30% weightage. Then research and professional practice this is having 30% weightage. Then graduation outcomes with 20% weightage, outreach and inclusivity with 10% weightage and finally perception with 10% weightage. So these are the 5 indicators based on which the total score is calculated for a particular higher education institute. And the score in turn is used to rank the institute. Now moving on to see about the issues surrounding NIRF ranking. See many academic communities have concern about the indicators. Particularly many have raised a concern over the indicator of research and professional practices. This is because this particular indicator gives a lot of attention to bibliometric measures. Now what is this bibliometrics? See bibliometrics refers to the measurable aspects of research. To say simply the bibliometrics are the statistical analysis of articles or other publications in journals that are published based on research output. For instance the number of citations a paper receives is a bibliometric measure of its impact. Now what is the problem with these bibliometric measures? Let's imagine we have a researcher who published an article in an international journal about his research on the origin of the coronavirus. According to this research they claim that the virus originated from chicken meat. Now just by looking at the publication itself we cannot fully evaluate the quality or accuracy of the research. We need to consider other factors like the methodology that is used, the credibility of the data and the opinions of other experts in the field. But bibliometrics on the other hand focuses mainly on the number of publications and citations. This doesn't take these qualitative measures into account. So it is like only looking at the quantity of the papers without considering the quality. This is the major problem with the bibliometric measures. Now coming back to the NIRF. As we saw earlier the research and professional practice indicator of NIRF gives a lot of attention to bibliometric measures. That is the particular indicator solely considers research articles published in international journals. And it sidelines other forms of intellectual contributions such as books, workshops, reports and other such forms of work. So overall the NIRF passively encourages researchers to focus on work that is likely to be published in international journals. As we all know the international journals usually prefer the research work on topics which are of global significance. So the NIRF passively discourages the work that focuses on national and local issues. Therefore the science policy experts in India have pointed out that relying too much on bibliometrics for complete assessment of a higher education institution will not provide an overall picture. So they advocate that government should adopt a more comprehensive evaluation methodology to assess the higher education institutions rather than relying solely on bibliometric measures. Now moving on to see about the transparency of NIRF rankings. See the NIRF rankings have some flaws. The experts say that there is no transparency about the source of data that is collected by the NIRF. Apart from this there is no transparency about how the data is collected and how that data becomes the basis for the total school. Overall the experts say that the NIRF is partly transparent as it shares its methodology but the NIRF doesn't provide a detailed view of the data collection and assessment. To sum it up the NIRF rankings provide some important data to the students about the higher education institutions in India but there are some issues associated with the assessment methodology. The government has to reconsider the evaluation methodology and it has to adopt a transparent and effective evaluation methodology to assess the higher education institutions in India. That's all for this discussion. With the learned points in mind now we will move on to the next article discussion. Take a look at this editorial article. This editorial article tries to explain about artificial intelligence and the issues associated with it. We will see them in detail in this discussion. Before that the syllabus relevant to this discussion is highlighted here. You can go through it. Firstly what is an AI or artificial intelligence? See artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligent processes by missions especially computer systems. So imagine you're using a smart assistant on your phone. When you ask a question it understands your query and provides relevant answers. It can also suggest personalized recommendations such as movie or music based on your preference. So AI basically learns from the data and uses algorithms to make predictions and assist users. So we can say that it deals with building smart missions which are capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. Remember AI systems are capable of exhibiting superhuman performance on only specific or narrow tasks. So such tasks include speech recognition, translation and even identifying common objects like photographs. In some instances they even exceed human performance in these narrow tasks. A very good example for this is the chat GPT which was released in November 2022. See chat GPT is a generative AI tool that uses a large language model to generate text. See the large language model is basically a large artificial neural network that ingests large amounts of digital text to build a statistical model. At the basic level large language models merely predict the most probable or relevant word that would follow a given sequence of words based on the learned statistical model. Currently few LLMs are also being built by Google, Meta, Amazon and others. Writing could now be outsourced to them. Now even though AI have such huge advantages they are weak in integrating inferences across situations based on the common sense that humans have. We all know that common sense will make a human save his life in a life-threatening situation. But we cannot expect that in an AI. Luckily this drawback can be addressed by another technology called artificial general intelligence. See artificial general intelligence have intelligence that is not limited or narrow. Think of a mission having humans common sense that is what AGI is. But there are no credible efforts towards building AGI yet. Many experts believe AGI is the future. Now with this basic understanding about AI let us quickly go through the three possible types of danger arising from AI as mentioned by the author in this news article. See the opinions are of personal views of the author so just listen to the article and draw your own opinion towards it. Firstly the author talks about the super human AI. This refers to the fear of a super intelligent artificial intelligence which surpasses human capabilities and potentially posing a threat to humanity. However the article suggests that this scenario is highly unlikely and not a major concern. The second danger is a threat of malicious use of AI. See AI tools are relatively easy to build and even narrow AI tools can cause serious harm when matched with malicious intent. For example, fake news can be generated through large language models. Then public opinion can be manipulated to affect democratic elections and so on. Another thing is that AI tools do not have boundaries and barriers. So even an individual malice can instantly impact the globe. There are concerns about AI powered smart weapons in the military as well. Then third danger is the highly capable and inscrutable AI. See AI systems will continue to improve and will be employed to assist humans. But they may also end up harming some sections of the people unintentionally. This could happen despite the best intentions of their creators. For example, see these systems are created using machine learning from data available around the world. So if there is any flaw in that data, it can be reinforced again in these AI. So they may introduce asymmetric behaviors that go against certain groups like labelling a specific group of people as terrorists. Then secondly, these AIs do not have any public oversight or regulation. So they do not have any incentive to keep AI systems just. So this is a threat again. Most importantly, every person can be tracked anytime, anywhere. So this violates the fundamental right to privacy as well. See all these can have a serious long lasting negative impact on individuals. So if you're asking me what can be done? See, we understand that AI holds tremendous potential in different sectors like public health, agriculture, transportation and governments. So as we exploit India's advantages in them, we need more discussions to make AI systems responsible, fair and just to our society. And for that to happen, we need a systematic evaluation of their efficiency and shortcomings in Indian situations. We need to establish mechanisms of checks and balances before we go for a large scale deployment of AI systems. So all we need is an India specific framework that can address all these issues. So in conclusion, we need to be careful with AI as it can be used for both good and bad purposes. It's important to use AI responsibly and think about the potential risks it poses. So with these points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion. Look at this news article. Recently, the law commission decided to ask for public opinion on the idea of a uniform civil code. So this is why the uniform civil code has made news. In this background, let us understand few facts about the uniform civil code. First of all, what is uniform civil code? See, it is nothing but a code which encompasses a single personal law for all citizens irrespective of religion, sex, gender and sexual orientation. The UCC calls for the formulation of one law for India regarding civil cases. And the uniform civil code envisions a single law that is applicable to all religious communities in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption. The uniform civil code originated during colonial India during the British times. They recommended excluding personal laws of Hindus and Muslims from codification. In 1941, the B&Rau committee was formed to codify Hindu law. The Hindu Succession Act was passed in 1956. But separate personal laws remind for Muslims, Christians and Parsis. Courts have urged the government to move towards a uniform civil code for uniformity. Cases like Shah Bano in 1985 and Sarla Mudhal in 1995 highlighted the conflicts between personal laws. The centre argues that practices like triple talak and polygamy can violate women's right to dignity. So, they rise the question of whether religious practices should be protected if they conflict with fundamental rights. Now, in India, personal laws are based on religion. These laws apply to a certain group of people based on their religion, caste, faith and belief. They are made after due consideration of customs and religious ethics. Let us take the case of Hinduism and Islam. See, in Hinduism, the personal laws are applicable to legal issues related to inheritance, succession, marriage, adoption, co-parenting, obligations of sons to pay their father's debt, the partition of family property, maintenance, guardianship and charitable donations. The sources of these laws include Vedas, Dharmashastras, Dharmashutras and age-old customs. Next, in Islam, personal laws apply to matters relating to inheritance, will, succession, legacies, marriage, works, dowry, guardianship, divorce and gifts. The source of these are Quran and other practices. Then there are some other examples of personal laws which includes the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, Hindu Succession Act of 1956, the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act of 1956, the Muslim Personal Law Application Act of 1937, Dissolution of Muslim Marriages at 1939 and we also have Vak Act of 1955. From these examples, what can be inferred? See, we can infer that these are laws existing for personal matters based on religion. But why everyone is talking about uniform civil code? And what is the need for uniform civil code in India? Now you try and list the points. It is very easy. The disadvantages of personal laws are the reasons why we need uniform civil code. So we will see the disadvantages of personal laws. First of all, these personal laws are the exact opposite of secularism. So in order to promote secularism, we need uniform civil code. Secondly, the personal laws are discriminatory. Muslims are governed by Muslim laws and Hindus are governed by Hindu laws. These laws will not be the same. So the benefits that are enjoyed by a person in one religion is different from the benefits that are enjoyed by persons in another religion. And this is discrimination, right? So this is why we need uniform civil code. Thirdly, we need uniform civil code to promote women empowerment. See, some laws are extremely patriarchal and misogynistic. This leads to subjugation and mistreatment of women. So in order to avoid this, we need a uniform civil code. Thirdly, overlapping provisions in different laws can be avoided. And finally, UCC will help accelerate the process of national integration and it would create a sense of oneness. Also, there are some challenges in implementing the uniform civil code. Firstly, there are diverse personal laws. Different communities have their own customary practices and this is within the same religion. For example, marriage rules differ between regions in India. Achieving uniformity is difficult due to these diverse practices. Then there is lack of uniformity. Not only Hindus but Muslims and Christians also have different personal laws. The constitution itself protects local customs in certain regions. This lack of uniformity adds to the complexity of implementing a uniform civil code. Then there are communal politics. The demand for a uniform civil code is often seen as a form of majoritarianism or favouring one religious group over others. Communal politics and social reform are intertwined in the discussion around the uniform civil code. Then there are constitutional conflicts. Article 25 of the Indian constitution protects the freedom of religion. And this conflicts with the principle of equality under Article 14. Balancing religious freedom with the need for uniformity poses a constitutional challenge. So in summary, the diverse personal laws, communal politics and constitutional conflicts present significant challenges in implementing uniform civil code in India. Now with the learned points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion. See this article. It is connected with the burning issue of the month. That is, the sexual harassment complaint against the Chief of the Wrestling Federation of India. This article mainly focuses on a POXO case filed against the Chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, Mr. Burj Bhushan Sharan Singh. The POXO case was filed against him for the offence of sexually harassing a minor wrestler. Now the Delhi police have filed a cancellation report for this case as the minor wrestler has changed her stand. In this context, let us learn about the POXO Act. See, POXO stands for protection of children from sexual offenses. As the name suggests, this law is all about protecting children from sexual offenses. It applies to children who are below 18 years of age. The Act defines different types of sexual offenses such as penetrative sexual assault, sexual assault and sexual harassment. One of the key features of the POXO Act is that it provides for strict punishment for these offenses. The severity of the punishment depends on the seriousness of the offence and it could range from a minimum of 20 years imprisonment to death penalty. Now let's talk about some important aspects of the POXO Act. Firstly, it ensures that the identity of the victim is kept confidential. This means that the name and personal details of the child victim cannot be disclosed to the public. Only with the permission of a special court, the identity can be revealed. Another important point is that the Act is gender neutral. It means that it applies to both boys and girls who are victims of sexual assault. The POXO Act also addresses the issue of child trafficking for sexual purposes. People involved in trafficking children for such activities can be punished under the Act, specifically under the provisions relating to abatement. One of the most crucial aspects of the POXO Act is that it focuses on conducting investigations and trials in a child-friendly manner. This means that certain practices are followed to ensure that the child feels comfortable and safe throughout the process. For example, the officer recording the child's statement should not wear a uniform. Additionally, the child should not come into contact with the accused during examination and also frequent breaks are allowed during the trial. This is to provide necessary support. Furthermore, the Act requires the state government to prepare guidelines for the assistance of child at the pre-trial and trial stages. This can involve the involvement of NGOs, that is, non-governmental organizations and experts who provide support to the child during the legal proceedings. Lastly, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights and the State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights are empowered to monitor the implementation of the provisions of this Act. To help you understand these concepts better, I recommend watching the movie Gargi by Sai Pallavi. This movie shows the investigation process and trial for a POXER case more clearly. So I hope this explanation has helped you to understand the key contents and features of the POXER Act. So with the learnt points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion. Look at this news article. The BIM6 Summit is likely to happen by the end of this year. The key outcomes of this summit will be adoption of Bankong Vision 2030 and also there will be the signing of Marine Transport Agreement. See, Bankong Vision 2023 is a document which would give directions to the organization and it envisions to make the region prosperous, resilient and open. So in this context, let us learn about BIM6 in the film's perspective. See, BIM6 stands for Bay of Bengal initiative for multi-sectoral, technical and economic cooperation. It was established through the Bankong Declaration on June 6, 1997. The BIM6 secretariat is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Now, let's take a closer look at the members of BIM6. Initially, it was known as BISTIC which stood for Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation. However, in 1997, Myanmar joined this grouping and since then it has been known as BISTIC. Bhutan and Nepal joined BISTIC in 2004. So currently, BISTIC has 7 member states. Now, let's talk about the purposes of BISTIC. See, BISTIC has several important goals. First and foremost, it aims to create an enabling environment for rapid economic development among its member states. It also thrives to maintain peace and stability in the Bay of Bengal region. Additionally, BISTIC is committed to eradicating poverty in this region. Trade and investment promotion are considered major factors for fostering economic and social development. So, BISTIC works towards promoting these aspects. Lastly, BISTIC encourages active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in various fields such as economy, society, technology and science. Moving on to the chairmanship of BISTIC. It rotates among its member states in alphabetical order based on their English names. Bangladesh had the first chairmanship and currently Thailand holds the membership. Thailand has proposed the Bangkok Vision 2030 which is the document that outlines the direction and goals for the organization. This is what this news article was also talking about. It focuses on sustainable and balanced growth enhancing regional interconnectedness thereby involving all stakeholders and strengthening BISTIC internally. So, to summarize, BISTIC is a regional organization comprising 7 member states. It was established through Bangkok's declaration in 1997. Its purposes include promoting economic development, peace, stability, poverty eradication, trade and investment as well as collaboration and assistance in various fields. The chairmanship rotates among member states and currently Thailand holds the chairmanship and has proposed the Bangkok Vision 2030 to guide the organization's effort towards a prosperous and resilient Bay of Bengal region. So, I hope this overview of BISTIC would have helped you to understand about this organization and its goals. With the learned points in mind, now we will move on to the next article discussion. Look at this article. Bob Bicard, former communication chief at Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has made allegation against China. He said that AIIB is serving only the interest of communist party of China. He also said China is having a greater influence in AIIB and it is lending primarily to countries which are targets for the China's Belt and Road Initiative. In this context, let us learn about the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. See, this bank was established in 2016 with 57 founding members and currently it has 103 members. That means it has grown quite a lot since its inception. One interesting thing about Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is that it represents a significant portion of the world's population and economy. It represents 79% of the global population and 65% of global GDP. That's quite impressive. In fact, it has even been granted permanent observer status in the UN General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. The headquarters of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is located in Beijing, China. And here's something worth noting. See, AIIB has consistently been receiving triple A ratings from top credit rating agencies like standards and powers, Moody's and Fitch. These ratings indicate that AIIB has good fiscal discipline and financial management. Now, let's talk about the main aim of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. See, the primary goal of this bank is to aid infrastructure development in the Asian region. Although it focuses on Asia, it has members from all over the world. One interesting aspect is that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank aims to reduce dependence on pro-Western institutions like IMF and the World Bank. So, it provides an alternative source of funding and support. AIIB holds three core values, lean, clean and green. These values highlight their commitment to efficiency, transparency and sustainability in their projects and operations. Now, let's move on to discussing the shareholders of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. See, China is the largest shareholder and it holds 27% of the shares. India stands second in terms of shareholding and it holds 8% of the shares and it is followed by Russia. When it comes to the organizational structure of this bank, the highest decision-making body is called the Board of Governors. They are responsible for making important decisions regarding the bank's operation. On the other hand, the Non-Resident Board of Directors handles the general operation of the bank on a day-to-day basis. Finally, let's talk about AIIB's contribution to India. See, it has funded 28 projects in India so far and the total worth is approximately $6.7 billion. These projects cover various sectors and have been aimed at promoting infrastructure development and economic growth in India. So, that's it for today's discussion. I hope you gained a good understanding of all the topics we discussed today. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section. With this note, now we will take up the practice questions. Question number one. Consider the following statements regarding the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Statement one, it aims to reduce dependence on pro-Western institutions like World Bank and IMF. Statement number two, Japan is the largest shareholder in Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Statement three, Board of Governors is the highest decision-making body of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. How many of the above statements are incorrect? Here, statement one is correct. This we saw in the discussion itself. Statement two is incorrect. China is the largest shareholder in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and not Japan. Also, note that Japan is the largest shareholder in the Asian Development Bank. Statement number three is correct. Board of Governors is the highest decision-making body of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Please take a note that the question asks for the incorrect statements. So, the correct answer for this question is option A, only one. Question number two, consider the following statements regarding POXO Act. Statement number one, the investigating officer have to ensure that the child does not come in contact with the accused during examination. Statement number two, investigations and trials under this act will be conducted in a child-friendly manner. Here, statement number one is correct and statement number two is also correct. So, both the statements are correct and the statement two is the correct explanation for statement one. So, the correct answer is option B. Question number three, the purpose of uniform civil code incorporated in article 44 of Indian Constitution is for the answer here is option C, national unity. Article 44 in the Directive Principles of State Policy tells that the state shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India. And this is incorporated to include national unity among the people. See, this is the quiz question. Based on the discussion we had today, you will be able to answer this question. Read the question carefully and post the answers in the comment box below. Displayed here are the main questions for your practice. Interest as friends can write the answer and post it in the comment box below. If you found a video to be useful, hit the like button, share it with your friends, subscribe to the channel, happy learning.