Daily Mains Practice Questions 11-02-2023

KEY POINTS

·        France is the 11th largest foreign investor in India with a cumulative investment of $10.31 billion from April 2000 to June 2022, which represents 1.70% of the total foreign direct investment inflows into India.

·        France has emerged as a major strategic partner for India with crucial defence deals and increased military to military engagement.

·        A key example of this is the inducting of the French Scorpene conventional submarines, being built in India under technology transfer agreement of 2005.

·        As the complexities in the international geopolitical order have emerged, both countries have worked towards a deepening and broadening of their cooperation.

·        India and France are resident powers of the Indian Ocean and in the Indo-Pacific.

·        Maritime security has further gained momentum as both countries have articulated their common vision for a free, fair and open Indo-Pacific.

·        The two partners have formed a trilateral grouping with the United Arab Emirates to ensure maritime domain awareness and security from the east coast of Africa to the far Pacific.

·        India’s partnership with France is built on common values and goals. Both have underlined the ‘importance of maintaining strategic autonomy with a shared understanding of global risks in many domains.

KEY POINTS

·        The monetary policy was not expected to surprise the markets as a 25 basis point (bps) cut was taken for granted.

·        There is always the counter view that rate hikes take time to deliver and this is why two of the MPC members probably argued against a hike.

·        But the retention of the stance indicates that the RBI feels that there is still some liquidity to be mopped up and hence it is not yet time to turn ‘neutral’.

·        With the inflation trajectory for the next year expected to increase from 5 per cent in Q1 to 5.6 per cent in Q4, the RBI’s worries are justified.

·        The RBI’s growth forecasts appear to be pragmatic and are welcome at a time when several analysts and economists have been talking of rates as low as 5 per cent for FY24.

·        However, the interesting take is the downward glide path cross quarters from 7.8 per cent to 5.8 per cent.

·        The credit policy combined with the Budget provides a lot of comfort on the growth prospects for the economy.

·        The concern on inflation remains as it is often caused by extraneous factors that may beyond the control of policy makers.

KEY POINTS

·        Artificial Intelligence is penetrating in every walk of life, fundamentally changing the way we associate, work and think.

·        Globally, women are under-represented in the field of AI and there is a growing recognition of the need for more equitable opportunities for women to realise their full potential in this rapidly growing field.

·        As per the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022, women make up only 22 per cent of the AI workforce.

·        This not only limits the diversity of perspectives and experiences that are shaping the future of AI, but also perpetuates the gender pay gap and limits career growth.

·        For instance, in India, KIRAN scheme is inducting more women scientists in research and development roles.

·        India’s National Strategy for AI focuses on inclusiveness, and promotes the idea of #AIFORALL.

·        Tech giants like Google and Facebook have only 10-15 per cent AI specialists as women.

·        Governments and educational institutions can play a crucial role by investing and executing programmes that boost the participation of women in AI

·        With the G20 presidency and spotlight on Nari Shakti, India is best positioned to drive international cooperation and shape the global policy on advancing gender equality in AI.

Q. 3 gender bias in AI

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