Prelim Bits 13-06-2023 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Hiroshima AI Process (HAP)

The annual Group of Seven (G7) Summit, hosted by Japan, took place in Hiroshima initiated the Hiroshima AI process (HAP)

• HAP is an effort by G7 countries to determine a way forward to regulate artificial intelligence (AI).
• Hiroshima AI process (HAP) made a plan for ministers from the respective countries to meet by the end of the year to establish common rules on promoting trustworthy AI.
• HAP will work in cooperation with the OECD and Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) will discuss on generative AI by the end of this year.

Global Partnership on AI (GPAI)

• It is an international initiative to support responsible and human-centric development and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• Aim - To bridge the gap between theory and practice on AI by supporting cutting-edge research and applied activities on AI-related priorities.
• It built around a shared commitment to the OECD Recommendation on Artificial Intelligence.
• GPAI is a group of 25 member countries.
• India joined the group as a founding member in 2020.
• It brings together engaged minds and expertise from science, industry, civil society, governments, international organisations and academia to foster international cooperation.

G7

• It is an intergovernmental economic group consisting of 7 largest IMF advanced economies such as Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US.
• EU is also represented within the G7 as an invitee.
• These countries are the 7 major advanced economies as reported by the IMF.
• Formerly called G8 with Russia in it, but due to Crimean crisis, Russia was ejected from the group.
• G7 summit is being held annually to discuss economic policies, while the G7 finance ministers have met at least semi-annually.
• It has no binding impact on policy, and all decisions and commitments made at G7 meetings need to be ratified independently by governing bodies of member states.
• India’s membership - India is a not a member of G7.
• Chair of 2023, G7 – Japan.

Reference

The Hindu | Hiroshima AI Process (HAP)

National Conference of Tribal Writers

First national conference of tribal writers held in J&K.

• The 2-day conference, organised at the Jammu University's Bhaderwah campus was attended by 37 Adivasi writers, poets and cultural experts.
• Aim – To provide a platform for Adivasi writers to foster cultural exchange and address the challenges they face in preserving their unique identities.
• It is an initiative of Jharkhandi Bhasha Sahitya Sanskriti Akhara and the Anjuman-e-Taraqqi Gojri Adab.
• Representation of Tribals - Santhali, Gondi, Ho, Bhundhari, Koya, Banjara, Kharia, Kudhuk, Gujjar, Bakerwal, Gaddi and Munda, attended the conference.
• States Participated - Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Andhra Pradesh.

Reference

The Hindu | First national conference of tribal writers

Ram Prasad Bismil

126^th birth anniversary of Ram Prasad Bismil, a revered symbol of patriotism and Hindu-Muslim unity, was commemorated recently

• Ram Prasad Bismil was born on June 11, 1897 in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) Shahjahanpur district.
• He joined the Arya Samaj and became a prolific writer and poet.
• He wrote patriotic verses in Hindi and Urdu under pen names like ‘Agyat’, ‘Ram’, and the one that is most known ‘Bismil’.
• He wrote the poem Mera Janm (My Birth), venting out his anger over death sentence handed out to Arya Samaj missionary Bhai Parmanand.

The Mainpuri Conspiracy, 1918

• Bismil started a revolutionary organisation called Matrivedi (The Altar of the Motherland) and joined forces with fellow revolutionary Genda Lal Dixit.
• Dixit was well-connected with dacoits of the state and wanted to utilise them in the armed struggle against the British.
• In 1918, Bismil wrote the famous poem, Mainpuri ki Pratigya.
• In order to collect funds for their parties, he carried out at least 3 instances of looting at government offices in Mainpuri district.

Hindustan Republican Association, 1923

• Ashfaqullah Khan and Bismil found the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) in 1923.
• Aim - Winning freedom for the country through an armed revolution.
• HSRA published a manifesto titled “The Revolutionary” in 1925.
• It was renamed as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA), 1928.

Kakori Conspiracy, 1925

• In August 1925, an armed robbery took place on board the Kakori Express which was going from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow.
• It was carrying money that had been collected at various railway stations and was to be deposited in Lucknow.
• In this planned robbery, carried out to fund the activities of the HSRA, Bismil, Khan and over 10 other revolutionaries stopped the train and fled with the cash they found in it.
• Within a month of the robbery, many members of the HSRA were arrested.
• In September 1926, Bismil was arrested.
• After 18 month trial, Bismil was sentenced to death.
• The sentence was carried out on December 19, 1927.

Ghulami Mita Do was his famous poem that denotes he was not willing to negotiate or beg for his country’s freedom, if the British did not accede, he was willing to take it by force.

Reference

The Indian Express | Ram Prasad Bismil

Cyclone and its types

Cyclone Biparjoy, which is expected to generate wind speeds of 125-135 kmph with gusts reaching up to 150 kmph by the time it reaches land, is a tropical cyclone.

Cyclone

• A cyclone is a large-scale system of air that rotates around the centre of a low-pressure area.
• It is usually accompanied by violent storms and bad weather.
• As per NDMA, a cyclone is characterised by inward spiralling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Conditions for formation of a cyclonic storm 

• Temperature must be (> 26 degree Celsius) to a depth of 60 m with turbulent transfer of water vapour and the atmospheric instability could create massive vertical cumulus clouds.

• The National Disaster Management Authority classifies cyclones broadly into 2 categories:
  • Tropical cyclones
  • Extratropical cyclones

Tropical Cyclones

• Tropical cyclones are those which develop in the regions between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer.
• They are the most devastating storms on Earth.
• Characteristic features of tropical cyclones
  • Eye - a central region of clear skies, warm temperatures, and low atmospheric pressure;
  • Eyewall - the most dangerous and destructive part where winds are strongest and rainfall is heaviest
  • Rainbands - secondary cells that spiral into the center of the storm.The core of the storm turns warm, and the cyclone gets most of its energy from the “latent heat” released when water vapour that has evaporated from warm ocean waters condenses into liquid water.
• The winds blow counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Moreover, warm fronts or cold fronts aren’t associated with tropical cyclones.
• Tropical cyclones are known by various names in different parts of the world.

Extratropical Cyclones

• It is also known as mid-latitude cyclones or temperate cyclones.
• They occur in temperate zones and high latitude regions, though they are known to originate in the Polar Regions.
• They have cold air at their core, and derive their energy from the release of potential energy when cold and warm air masses interact.
• These storms always have one or more fronts connected to them, and can occur over land or ocean.
• An extratropical cyclone can have winds as weak as a tropical depression, or as strong as a hurricane.
• Examples of extratropical cyclones - Blizzards, Nor'easters, etc.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)

• It is the nodal agency to initiate processes to alleviate the sufferings arising out of disasters—biological, chemical, physical or hydrological.
• It was created under the Disaster Management (DM) Act 2005
• Chair - Prime Minister

Reference

The Indian Express | What is a cyclone and what are its types

Yakshagana

The Yakshagana team perform charity shows in Germany to help artistes who are economically not sound and to support the education of poor students through scholarships.

• Origin - Yakshagana also known as Bayalatam is a traditional dance-drama performance.
• “Yaksha” means “celestial” and “Gana” means “music”.
• It is a rare combination of dance, music, song, scholarly dialogues and colourful costumes.
• Associated State - It is performed in Karnataka and the Kasaragod district of Kerala.
• Traditionally, Yakshagana was performed in the open air by all-male casts sponsored by various Hindu temples.
• Since the mid-20th century many performances have been held on indoor stages, and women began to train in the tradition in the 1970s.
• The Act - Each performance typically focuses on a small sub-story (known as ‘Prasanga’) from ancient Hindu epics of Ramayana or Mahabharata.
• The show consists of both stage performances and commentary accompanied by traditional music.
• The Music- Musical instruments used in Yakshagana includes chande (drums), harmonium, maddale, taala (mini metal clappers), flute, etc.
• The Troupes (known as Melas) - Saligrama mela, Dharmasthala Mela, Mandarthi Mela, Perduru Mela, etc.
• The Costumes – Costumes used in Yakshagana include large headgear, brightly colored faces, elaborate costumes all over the body, and musical beads on the legs (Gejje).
• Yakshagana is similar to various forms most notably the Kathakali of Kerala and the Terukkuttu of Tamil Nadu.

Reference

The Hindu | Yakshagana