National
Mobile Application “Paat-Mitro”
⇒ To provide important information about MSP and agronomy to jute farmers, the Ministry of Textiles launched “Paat-Mitro” – a mobile application during ‘Jute Symposium’ on 21 December 2023. The application is available in 6 languages.
The ‘Jute Symposium’ was organised to create awareness and popularize Jute based technical textiles with special emphasize on Jute Geotextiles.
Developed by:
The mobile application has been developed by The Jute Corporation of India Limited (JCI).
Key Features:
- The latest agronomic practices and Minimum Support Prices (MSP); Jute Gradation Parameters, Farmer-centric schemes like ‘Jute-ICARE’, weather forecasts, JCI’s Purchase Centers’ locations, Procurement Policies are made available in the app.
- Farmers will also be able to track status of their payments for the raw jute sold to JCI under MSP Operation.
- Latest technology feature like Chatbot is included for their queries through this mobile application “Paat-Mitro”.
- All the functionalities of the mobile app are made available to the users free of cost.
International
Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit 2023
⇒ As Lead Chair, India hosted the annual GPAI Summit from 12th to 14th December 2023 to convene all 29 GPAI members to discuss matters related to AI.
- More than 22,000 persons attended the summit and out of these 15,000+ AI enthusiasts participated in the summit virtually.
Sessions:
Over the past three days, around 30 sessions were organized, which were graced by the global AI experts from GPAI, International Organisations, Industry / Startups, and Academia. Some of these sessions were held in closed door meetings having delegates and experts of GPAI. Other sessions were held in public and live streamed for the wider participation.
- During the summit, multiple sessions were organized on diverse topics such as AI and Global Health, Education and Skilling, AI and Data Governance and ML Workshop.
Other attractions at the summit included Research Symposium, AI Gamechangers Award and India AI Expo.
Research Symposium:
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with the Centre for Responsible AI (CeRAI), IIT Madras organised the Research Symposium as part of the Annual GPAI Summit.
- The Symposium, under the theme ‘Responsible AI in Public-Sector Applications’, provided a platform for Indian and International academics and researchers to collaborate with other AI experts and present their actionable research on Responsible AI in front of a global audience.
AI Gamechangers Award:
The AI Gamechangers Award aims to recognize and celebrate impactful AI solutions that are driving responsible AI innovation across two categories of awards – AI in Governance Leader Award and the NextGen Leaders Award.
Day 1:
Inaugural Session:
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi on 12 December 2023.
Panel Discussions and other sessions:
- Applications of AI in Priority Sectors
- Responsible AI Working Group
- Collaborative AI for Global Partnership (CAIGP) – Global Cooperation for Equitable AI & Building Scalable Large Language Models (LLMs)
- AI and Global Health: Role of AI In Advancing Healthcare
Day 2:
- AI Education and Skilling: Bridging the Talent Gap
- International AI Regulations: Catalyzing Innovation while ensuring Safety, Trust, and Accountability
- Mitigating Social Risks for a Safe and Resilient Society
- Productization and Scaling-up of AI Solutions
- Harnessing the power of Data Responsibly
GPAI New Delhi Declaration:
- 29 countries of the GPAI have unanimously adopted the GPAI New Delhi Declaration, which promises to position GPAI at the front and center of shaping the future of AI in terms of both innovation and creating collaborative AI between the partner nations.
- Countries agreed to create applications of AI in healthcare, agriculture, and many other areas that concern all our countries and all of our people.
Day 3:
- Data Governance Working Group
- AI for Climate Action: Accelerating Sustainable Solutions
- Generative AI: Issues & Challenges
- Innovation and Commercialization Working Group
- AI and Intellectual Property: Protecting Innovation
- Safe and Trustworthy AI: Adopting Robustness and Security in AI Systems
- AI for All – Bridging the Global AI Divide
» ‘Fireside Chat: Government’s Strategy in Supporting a Vibrant Startup Ecosystem for AI’ was held between founders of leading startups in India, namely Karya, Areete, Co-rover, NAYAN Technologies, Qure.ai, Haptik.ai, and Kissan AI.
The major outcomes achieved during the GPAI summit are as follows:
- GPAI New Delhi Declaration built the consensus among GPAI members on advancing safe, secure, and trustworthy AI and commitment to supporting the sustainability of GPAI projects.
- The Prime Minister’s gave clarion call to work together to prepare a global framework for the ethical use of AI”.
- India as the main player in the field of AI talent and AI-related ideas was highlighted.
- India Shines as Global Hub for AI Innovation.
- India brought together all major initiatives for AI – UN Advisory Group on AI, UK AI Safety Summit – at one event at GPAI New Delhi Summit.
- AI Research Analytics and Knowledge Dissemination Platform (AIRAWAT) and National Program on Artificial Intelligence and its role in shaping AI ecosystem in India was prominently emphasized.
- Platform was provided to the research community to showcase their core and applied research.
- Opportunity was provided to Startup community to showcase their AI products and services in the expo.
- AI Pitch fest provided an opportunity to upcoming startups to pitch for their innovation and value-added products and services.
- The summit brought to the fore the multi-stakeholder approach on taking AI among the masses especially among youths and students and highlighted the latest advancements on AI from technology, policy, framework, industrial, ethical, business, and academic perspectives.
About GPAI:
- The Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) is a multi-stakeholder initiative which aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice on AI by supporting cutting-edge research and applied activities on AI-related priorities.
- Launched in June 2020 with 15 members, GPAI is the fruition of an idea developed within the G7.
- India is a founding member of GPAI, having joined the multi-stakeholder initiative on June 15, 2020.
- Today, GPAI’s 29 members are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.
- GPAI has a Council and a Steering Committee, supported by a Secretariat hosted by the OECD, and two Centres of Expertise: one in Montreal (CEIMIA, the International Centre of Expertise in Montreal for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence) and one in Paris (at INRIA, the French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology).
- Currently, GPAI has four working groups on the themes of Responsible AI, Data Governance, the Future of Work, and Innovation and Commercialization.
Chair of GPAI:
- In November 2022, India received more than two-thirds of first preference votes and was elected as the Incoming Council Chair of GPAI. India served as the Incoming Support Chair in 2022-23. India took over as Lead Chair on 12 December 2023 for 2023-24 and will serve as Outgoing Support Chair in 2024-25.
New Emir of Kuwait
⇒ Kuwait’s new emir, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, has been formally sworn in before parliament to begin his rule over the wealthy Gulf monarchy.
- He took the oath of office during a special session of the National Assembly on 20 December 2023.
The new emir took office following the death of his half-brother Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah on 16 December 2023.
Important Day
International Monitoring Station (IMS) Day 2023
⇒ The Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing (WPC) and Wireless Monitoring Organisation (WMO) proudly celebrate the International Monitoring Station (IMS) Day on December 19, 2023.
- This occasion marks a milestone in the history of wireless monitoring and spectrum management in India, highlighting the tireless dedication of personnel in ensuring interference-free spectrum for public telecom services and wireless users across the Nation.
- Celebrating this significant day, the WMO reaffirms its commitment to functions such as resolving harmful interference, monitoring spectrum recovery, adherence to licensing conditions and ensuring interference-free wireless environments.
The celebration of International Monitoring Station (IMS) Day 2023 underscores the tireless efforts and unwavering dedication of all personnel involved in ensuring interference-free spectrum for public telecom services and wireless users in India.
About WMO:
- The Wireless Monitoring Organisation (WMO), established in 1952, acts as the vigilant eye and ear of the WPC, boasting a network of monitoring stations strategically located across India.
- Comprising one International Satellite Monitoring Earth Station (ISMES), five International Monitoring Stations (IMSs), and 22 Wireless Monitoring Stations (WMSs), the WMO conducts crucial spectrum monitoring, measurements and inspection duties for efficient radio frequency spectrum management and Geo-Stationary Orbit.
- The Wireless Monitoring Organisation (WMO) is a field unit of the WPC Wing, tasked with monitoring wireless transmissions, providing interference free radio-communication services and aiding spectrum monitoring, enforcement & management activities through strategically located monitoring stations across India.
About Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing (WPC):
- The Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing (WPC), functioning within the Ministry of Communications, Government of India, holds the responsibility for spectrum engineering and management.
- It issues licenses, devises national frequency allocation plans, collaborates with National and International organizations to enhance spectrum policies, and supervises the effective utilization of radio frequency spectrum across the country.
- WPC is headed by Wireless Adviser.