MANTHAN 2.

O
MARCH 2024 : WEEK-1

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Manthan 2.O | March 2024 : Week-1
Contents
1. GI tag for Majuli masks of Assam: History, cultural significance of the centuries-old art form.........3

2. Why INS Jatayu, India’s new naval base in Lakshadweep, matters .............................................................5

3. Meet MethaneSAT, a satellite which will ‘name and shame’ methane emitters....................................8

4. Meet Pi, the world’s ‘friendliest’ chatbot powered by the new Inflection-2.5 LLM.......................... 11

5. India signs trade agreement with EFTA: What is the significance of the deal? .................................. 13

6. Caught smuggling greenhouse gases: A first-of-its kind prosecution in the US ................................. 15

7. Pritzker Prize 2024: Japanese housing pioneer Riken Yamamoto wins ‘Nobel of architecture’... 18

8. Why scientists voted down proposal to declare start of the Anthropocene — and what it means..... 21

9. Kerala declares man-animal conflict a state-specific disaster .................................................................... 23

10. Bengaluru’s first driverless metro train, aided by AI ...................................................................................... 26

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1. GI tag for Majuli masks of Assam: History,
cultural significance of the centuries-old
art form
• Adding to their growing national and international recognition, the traditional Majuli masks in Assam
were given a Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Centre.
• Majuli manuscript painting also got the GI label.
• A GI tag is conferred upon products originating from a specific geographical region, signifying unique
characteristics and qualities.
• Essentially, it serves as a trademark in the international market.
• Majuli, the largest river island in the world and the seat of Assam’s neo-Vaishnavite tradition, has been
home to the art of mask-making since the 16th century.
• Many of its traditional practitioners are working to take the art out of their traditional place in sattras, or
monasteries, and give them a new, contemporary life.
What are these masks?
• The handmade masks are traditionally used to depict characters in bhaonas, or theatrical performances
with devotional messages under the neo-Vaishnavite tradition, introduced by the 15th-16th century
reformer saint Srimanta Sankardeva.
• The masks can depict gods, goddesses, demons, animals and birds — Ravana, Garuda, Narasimha,
Hanuman, Varaha Surpanakha all feature among the masks.
• They can range in size from those covering just the face (mukh mukha), which take around five days to
make, to those covering the whole head and body of the performer (cho mukha), which can take up to
one-and-a-half months to make.
• According to the application made for the patent, the masks are made of bamboo, clay, dung, cloth,
cotton, wood and other materials available in the riverine surroundings of their makers.
Why is the art practised in monasteries?
• Sattras are monastic institutions established by Srimanta Sankardev and his disciples as centres of
religious, social and cultural reform.
• They are also centres of traditional performing arts such as borgeet (songs), xattriya (dance) and bhaona
(theatre), which are an integral part of the Sankardev tradition.
• Majuli has 22 sattras, and the patent application states that the mask-making tradition is by and large
concentrated in four of them — Samaguri Sattra, Natun Samaguri Sattra, Bihimpur Sattra and Alengi
Narasimha Sattra.
The makers of the masks
• Hemchandra Goswami is the sattradhikar or the administrative head of the Samaguri Sattra, and a well-
known practitioner of the traditional mask-making art.
• According to him, masks had historically been made in all sattras, but the practice gradually died out in
most over time.
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 • “The arts of dance, song and musical instruments are closely tied to the sattras and the one who began
this was Assam’s guru Srimanta Sankardev. In the 16th century, he established this art of masks through
a play called Chinha Jatra.
• The word means explaining through images. At that time, to attract ordinary people to Krishna bhakti,
he had presented the play in his birthplace Batadrava.
• There, he presented two masks, which were worn to express what a person’s face could not. One was the
four-headed Brahma and the other was Garuda,” Goswami said.
• He said that the Samaguri Sattra had been practising mask-making since its establishment in 1663.
Making the mask contemporary
• Goswami said that while the masks were traditionally made only for the purpose of bhaonas, over the
past couple of decades, the Samaguri sattra has been trying to promote mask-making as an art form in its
own right.
• “For that, mask-making had to be made economically viable for artists. So we tried to increase the
mask’s uses beyond its traditional one,” he said.
• Among these have been the introduction of gifting small masks along with the traditional gamosas while
felicitating guests at events, promoting the sale of masks to tourists at Majuli, and increasing their
display at exhibitions and galleries— the masks have even found a place in the British Museum now.
• Bismita Dutta, CEO of Kristir Kothia, the NGO which submitted the GI tag application, said the long-
term aim was to further modernise the uses of the mask while preserving the tradition of the art.
• “To preserve and popularise the art, we have held many workshops for new artists over the years with
Hemchandra Goswami as our resource person.
• We want to make the sale of these masks a viable option for artists and the GI tag was one way to
promote that.
• Gradually we also want to modernise them in a way to appeal to younger people, with more
contemporary images.
• For example, a lot of people wear masks in Durga Puja festivities.
What is Majuli manuscript painting, which also received the GI tag?
• It is a form of painting — also originating in the 16th century — done on sanchi pat, or manuscripts
made of the bark of the sanchi or agar tree, using homemade ink.
• The earliest example of an illustrated manuscript is said to be a rendering of the Adya Dasama of the
Bhagwat Purana in Assamese by Srimanta Sankardev. This art was patronised by the Ahom kings. It
continues to be practised in every sattra in Majuli.
Geographical indication
• A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a
specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country).
• India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of
Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 has come into force with effect from 15 September 2003.
• GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement as: “Indications which identify a good as originating in
the territory of a member, or a region or a locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or
characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin.
• The GI tag ensures that none other than those registered as authorised users (or at least those residing
inside the geographic territory) are allowed to use the popular product name.
• Darjeeling tea became the first GI tagged product in India, in 2004–2005.
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Majuli
• Majuli is a large river island located in Assam, India.
• It is formed by the Brahmaputra River to the south and east, the Subansiri River to the west and an
anabranch of the Brahmaputra River called Kherkutia Xuti to the North.
• The island is inhabited by members of the Mising, Deori and Sonowal Kachri tribes and is a hub of
Assamese neo-Vaishnavite culture.
• Due to regular flooding in the rainy season and frequent changes in the river, the island experiences
significant erosion.
• From its 18th century size of 1,300 km2 (500 sq mi), by 2014, the remaining land mass has shrunk to 352
square kilometres (136 sq mi).
• It was the first island in the country to become a governmental district in 2016, and since 2004 Majuli is
on the UNESCO Tentative List for nomination as a World Heritage Site.
• Majuli is the world’s largest (inland) river island, according to Guinness World Records.
• Bananal Island in Brazil is the largest in the world.
• The dispute stems from the Araguaia River that forms Bananal Island either splitting into two separate
rivers that later rejoin, or remaining one river that forms an island in its middle.
QUESTIONS
Fill in the Blank:
1. The traditional Majuli masks in _________ were given a Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the
Centre.
2. _________ became the first GI tagged product in India, in 2004–2005.
3. GIs have been defined under _________ of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
4. India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications
of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 has come into force with effect from _________.
5. Majuli is a large river island located in _________.
6. Majuli is formed by the _________ River to the south and east.
7. Majuli was the first island in _________ to become a governmental district in 2016.
8. Since _________ Majuli is on the UNESCO Tentative List for nomination as a World Heritage Site.
9. Bananal Island in _________ is the largest in the world.
10. A _________ is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific
geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country).

2. Why INS Jatayu, India’s new naval base in

Lakshadweep, matters
• Naval Detachment Minicoy will be commissioned as INS Jatayu, an upgraded naval base, marking an
important milestone in the Indian Navy’s resolve to incrementally augment security infrastructure at the
strategic Lakshadweep Islands.

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 • While India has had a naval detachment in Minicoy, the southernmost atoll of the Lakshwadeep
archipelago, since the 1980s, INS Jatayu will effectively be the country’s second naval base in
Lakshadweep.
• The Navy’s first base on the islands, INS Dweeprakshak in Kavaratti, was commissioned in 2012.
• INS Jatayu will be commissioned days after Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Pravind Jugnauth of
Mauritius jointly inaugurated an airstrip and a jetty that India has built on the Mauritian island of
Agaléga off the coast of Africa in the western Indian Ocean.
The Lakshadweep Islands
• Lakshadweep, ‘a hundred thousand islands’ in Sanskrit and Malayalam, is an archipelago of 36 islands
located between 220 km and 440 km from Kochi.
• The islands, only 11 of which are inhabited, have a total area of only 32 sq km.
• The Lakshadweep are part of a chain of coralline islands in the Indian Ocean that includes Maldives to
the south, and the Chagos archipelago farther beyond, to the south of the equator.
• Given their location in the Indian Ocean, the Lakshadweep are of huge strategic importance to India.
• Minicoy straddles vital Sea Lines of Communications (SLOCs) — the world’s main maritime highways
— including the Eight Degree Channel (between Minicoy and Maldives) and the Nine Degree Channel
(between Minicoy and the main cluster of Lakshadweep islands).
• In consequence, the Lakshadweep Islands are also vulnerable to marine pollution.
INS Jatayu naval base
• The existing Naval Detachment Minicoy, which is under the operational command of the Naval Officer-
in-Charge (Lakshadweep), will be commissioned as INS Jatayu.
• A naval detachment has administrative, logistics, and medical facilities. INS Jatayu will be upgraded to
a naval base with additional infrastructure such as an airfield, housing, and personnel, after obtaining the
requisite environmental and other clearances.
• The fragile ecology of the island may pose challenges for the construction of a jetty. But there are plans
to construct a new airfield that will be capable of operating both military and civil aircraft.
Teeth to Navy operations
• As per the Navy, the basing of an independent naval unit with requisite infrastructure and resources will
enhance its overall operational capability in the islands.
• The establishment of the base is in line with the government’s focus on comprehensive development of
the islands.
• The Navy has also said that the base will enhance its operational reach, facilitate its anti-piracy and anti-
narcotics operations in the western Arabian Sea, and augment its capability as the first responder in the
region.
• With the commissioning of INS Jatayu, the Indian Navy will add to its strength on the western seaboard.
• The proposed airfield will allow operations for a range of aircraft, including P8I maritime
reconnaissance aircraft and fighter jets, and extend the Navy’s reach and operational surveillance
capabilities at a time when India is seeking to counter the growing Chinese influence in the Indian
Ocean Region.
• This has an immediate bearing at a time when India’s relations with the Maldives have come under
strain since the election of the pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu.
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Indian Navy
• The Indian Navy is a multi-dimensional force that has been organized to safeguard India’s maritime
territorial integrity and other maritime interests.
• It is headed by the Chief of the Naval Staff or the CNS.
• He is of the rank of Admiral and has his headquarters at New Delhi.
• The Indian Navy has two Operational Commands and one Training Command. The Operational
Commands are:-
• The Western Naval Command at Mumbai
• The Eastern Naval Command at Visakhapatnam
• The Southern Naval Command is the Training Command at Kochi.
• All three Commands are headed by an officer of the rank of Vice-Admiral designated as the ‘Flag
Officer Commander-in-Chief’.
• The major bases of the Indian Navy are located at Mumbai, Goa, Karwar, Kochi, Chennai,
Visakhapatnam, Kolkata and Port Blair.
• The biggest ships of the Indian Navy form part of its two Fleets.
• A Fleet is a group of ships that operate under one authority.
• The Indian Navy’s Western Fleet is based at Mumbai and the Eastern Fleet is based at Visakhapatnam.
• There are also Flotillas of ships, Squadrons of submarines and various types of aircraft operated by the
Navy from a number of Naval Air Stations.
QUESTIONS
Fill in the Blank:
1. Naval Detachment Minicoy will be commissioned as _________.
2. Lakshadweep is an archipelago of _________ islands located between 220 km and 440 km from
Kochi.
3. _________ will be commissioned days after Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Pravind Jugnauth
of Mauritius jointly inaugurated an airstrip and a jetty that India has built on the Mauritian island of
_________ off the coast of Africa in the western Indian Ocean.
4. The Navy’s first base on the islands, _________ in Kavaratti, was commissioned in 2012.
5. While India has had a naval detachment in Minicoy, the southernmost atoll of the _________
archipelago, since the 1980s, _________ will effectively be the country’s second naval base in
_________.
6. The Indian Navy is a multi-dimensional force that has been organized to safeguard India’s maritime
territorial integrity and other maritime interests. It is headed by the _________.
7. He is of the rank of Admiral and has his headquarters at _________.
8. The Western Naval Command is at _________.
9. The Southern Naval Command is the Training Command at _________.
10. All three Commands are headed by an officer of the rank of Vice-Admiral designated as the
_________.

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3. Meet MethaneSAT, a satellite which will
‘name and shame’ methane emitters
• MethaneSAT — a satellite which will track and measure methane emissions at a global scale — was
launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket from California.
• While the washing-machine-sized satellite is not the first spacecraft to identify and quantify methane
emissions, it will provide more details and have a much wider field of view than any of its predecessors.
But first, why do we need to track and measure methane emissions?
• Methane is an invisible but strong greenhouse gas, and the second largest contributor to global warming
after carbon dioxide, responsible for 30 per cent of global heating since the Industrial Revolution.
• According to the United Nations Environment Programme, over a period of 20 years, methane is 80
times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide.
• The gas also contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone — a colourless and highly irritating gas
that forms just above the Earth’s surface.
• According to a 2022 report, exposure to ground-level ozone could be contributing to one million
premature deaths every year.
• Therefore, it is crucial to cut methane emissions. And the main culprit: fossil fuel operations, which
account for about 40 per cent of all human-caused methane emissions.
What is MethaneSAT?
• The entity behind MethaneSAT is the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) — a US-based nonprofit
environmental advocacy group. To develop the satellite, EDF partnered with Harvard University, the
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and the New Zealand Space Agency.
• Essentially, MethaneSAT will orbit the Earth 15 times a day, monitoring the oil and gas sector.
• It will create a large amount of data, which will tell “how much methane is coming from where, who’s
responsible, and are those emissions going up or down over time.
• The data collected by MethaneSAT will be made public for free in near real-time.
• This will allow stakeholders and regulators to take action to reduce methane emissions.
What are the features of MethaneSAT?
• Historically, tracking the source of methane emissions and measuring them has been quite challenging.
• While some satellites can provide high-resolution data, they can only scan specific, pre-targeted sites.
• Others can examine larger areas and detect large emitting events, but cannot scan “smaller sources that
account for the majority of emissions in many, if not most, regions,” the EDF statement added.
• Due to this discrepancy, according to an International Energy Agency (IEA) report, global methane
emissions are about 70 per cent higher than levels reported by national governments.
• MethaneSAT is expected to fix the issue. Equipped with a high-resolution infrared sensor and a
spectrometer, the satellite will fill critical data gaps.
• It can track differences in methane concentrations as small as three parts per billion in the atmosphere,
which enables it to pick up smaller emissions sources than the previous satellites.

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 • MethaneSAT also has a wide-camera view — of about 200 km by 200 km — allowing it to identify
larger emitters so-called “super emitters”.
• The collected data will be analysed using cloud-computing and AI technology developed by Google —
the company is a mission partner — and the data will be made public through Google’s Earth Engine
platform.
Why is it significant?
• The launch of MethaneSAT has come at a moment when the world is implementing more stringent
methane management policies.
• For instance, more than 150 countries signed the Global Methane Pledge in 2021, to cut their collective
methane emissions by at least 30 per cent from 2020 levels by 2030.
• At last year’s COP, more than 50 companies committed to virtually eliminating methane emissions and
routine flaring.
• MethaneSAT will help them meet these targets.
• The satellite will also usher in a new era of transparency. Its publicly available data, which can be
accessed by anyone in the world, will keep track of methane commitments made by governments and
corporations.
• However, it does not necessarily mean that the data will compel polluters to curb their emissions.
Methane
• Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CH4 (one carbon atom bonded to four
hydrogen atoms).
• It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas.
• The abundance of methane on Earth makes it an economically attractive fuel, although capturing and
storing it is hard because it is a gas at standard temperature and pressure.
• Naturally occurring methane is found both below ground and under the seafloor and is formed by both
geological and biological processes.
• The largest reservoir of methane is under the seafloor in the form of methane clathrates.
• When methane reaches the surface and the atmosphere, it is known as atmospheric methane.
• The Earth’s atmospheric methane concentration has increased by about 160% since 1750, with the
overwhelming percentage caused by human activity.
• It accounted for 20% of the total radiative forcing from all of the long-lived and globally mixed
greenhouse gases, according to the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.
• Strong, rapid and sustained reductions in methane emissions could limit near-term warming and improve
air quality by reducing global surface ozone.
• Methane has also been detected on other planets, including Mars, which has implications for
astrobiology research.
International Energy Agency
• The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation,
established in 1974, that provides policy recommendations, analysis and data on the global energy
sector.
• The 31 member countries and 13 association countries of the IEA represent 75% of global energy
demand.
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 • The IEA was set up under the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis to respond to physical disruptions in global
oil supplies, provide data and statistics about the global oil market and energy sector, promote energy
savings and conservation, and establish international technical collaboration.
• Since its founding, the IEA has also coordinated use of the oil reserves that its members are required to
hold.
• In subsequent decades, the IEA’s role expanded to cover the entire global energy system, encompassing
traditional fuels such as gas, and coal as well as cleaner and fast-growing energy sources and
technologies including renewable energy sources; solar photovoltaics, wind power, biofuels as well as
nuclear power, and hydrogen, and the critical minerals needed for these technologies.
• The core activity of the IEA is providing policy advice to its member states and associated countries to
support their energy security and advance their transition to clean energy.
• Recently, it has focused in particular on supporting global efforts to accelerate clean energy transition,
mitigate climate change, reach net zero emissions, and prevent global temperatures from rising above
1.5 °C.
• All IEA member countries have signed the Paris Agreement which aims to limit warming to 1.5 °C, and
two thirds of IEA member governments have made commitments to emission neutrality by 2050.
• The IEA’s current executive director is Fatih Birol, who took office in late 2015.
• IEA publishes a range of reports and other information including its flagship publication, the annual
World Energy Outlook, as well as the Net Zero by 2050 report.
QUESTIONS
Fill in the Blank:
1. _________ — a satellite which will track and measure methane emissions at a global scale — was
launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket from California.
2. _________ is an invisible but strong greenhouse gas.
3. Methane has also been detected on other planets, including _________, which has implications for
astrobiology research.
4. The largest reservoir of methane is under the seafloor in the form of _________.
5. When methane reaches the surface and the atmosphere, it is known as _________.
6. The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a _________-based autonomous intergovernmental
organisation, established in 1974.
7. The IEA was set up under the framework of the _________ in the aftermath of the _________ oil
crisis.
8. IEA publishes a range of reports and other information including its flagship publication, the annual
_________, as well as the Net Zero by 2050 report.
9. All IEA member countries have signed the Paris Agreement which aims to limit warming to
_________, and two thirds of IEA member governments have made commitments to emission
neutrality by _________.
10. The IEA’s current executive director is _________.

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4. Meet Pi, the world’s ‘friendliest’ chatbot
powered by the new Inflection-2.5 LLM
• Two Large Language Models (LLMs) have been launched that are closer to or even better at tasks than
OpenAI’s GPT-4.
• After Anthropic’s Claude 3 captured the attention of the AI community, Inflection AI launched its latest
LLM, Inflection 2.5, an upgrade to its model that powers its friendly chatbot Pi personal assistant.
• Inflection AI, a California-based AI startup founded by former co-founders of DeepMind and LinkedIn,
introduced Pi, their personal AI, in May 2023.
• Pi has been designed to be “empathetic, helpful, and safe”, according to Inflection AI.
• Following the success of the chatbot, the company introduced its new major foundation model,
Inflection 2, in November 2023.
• At the time of the launch of Inflection 2, the company claimed it to be the best LLM in the world.
• Now, the company is back with an upgraded version that is claimed to be as good as GPT-4.
• Launched Inflection 2.5 is available to all Pi’s users at pi.ai, iOS, and Android.
What is Inflection 2.5?
• According to the makers, Inflection-2.5 is an “upgraded in-house model that is competitive with all the
world’s leading LLMs like GPT-4 and Gemini.”
• The company claims that the newly upgraded LLM comes with its signature personality and uniquely
empathetic fine-tuning.
• The company claims that its latest model achieved GPT-4’s performance with only 40 per cent of the
OpenAI model’s computation power for training.
• Besides, it seems Inflection 2.5 has made some stellar strides in areas of IQ such as coding and
mathematics.
• This means that the model has made substantial improvements on key benchmarks.
• With the new upgrade, Pi has now been endowed with world-class real-time web search capabilities to
ensure that users get access to high-quality and up-to-date information in real-time.
What is the Pi chatbot?
• Pi is an AI chatbot with which one can have deep and meaningful conversations.
• To access the chatbot, one needs to log on to Inflection.AI, click on Meet Pi, and simply start talking to
the chatbot right away.
• Pi was launched at a time when the world was marvelling at OpenAI’s sensational ChatGPT.
• While ChatGPT offered human-like responses, Pi came with a radically different vigour.
• Pi is more humane and has been promoted as a chatbot that has a personality.
• In other words, Inflection AI dubbed it as a chatbot that is “supportive, smart, and there for you
anytime”.
• While ChatGPT and Gemini were mostly personal assistants that were useful at work, Pi is more like a
companion to humans and is free to use. The chatbot comes with a voice, in six distinct voices, to
choose from adding life to conversations.

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 • On the technical side, for training purposes, the chatbot has been shown billions of lines of text on the
open web.
• This allows Pi to have conversations with users and answer a wide variety of questions, according to the
company. Incidentally, the name Pi stands for personal intelligence and it offers infinite knowledge
according to a user’s need.
• Upon its launch, Pi was powered by Inflection’s proprietary LLM Inflection-1 which was trained on
thousands of NVIDIA H100 GPUs on a very large data set.
• Based on the evaluations, Inflection-1 was ranked the best model in its compute class outdoing the likes
of GPT-3.5, LLaMA, and PaLM-540B on a wide range of benchmarks.
• In 2022, the company launched its new model Inflection-2, which was trained on 5,000 NVIDIA H100
GPUs.
• Inflection-2 outclassed Google’s flagship LLM PaLM 2 on various benchmarks including MMLU
(massive multitask language understanding), TriviaQA (a realistic text-based question-answering
dataset), HellaSwag & GSM8k.
• HellaSwag is a challenging dataset for evaluating common sense NLI (natural language interpretation)
that is typically hard for state-of-the-art AI models. GSM8K stands for Grade School Math 8K and is a
dataset of 8,500 high-quality grade school mathematical word problems that require multi-step
reasoning.
How is Inflection-2.5 different?
• With the upgraded language model Inflection-2.5, the company has enhanced the emotional quotient of
the Pi chatbot.
• The company claims that with the new LLM, users are talking to the Pi chatbot about a wider range of
topics including discussing current events, getting local restaurant recommendations, studying for a
biology exam, drafting business plans, coding, and even fun discussions on hobbies.
• According to the company, Inflection-2.5 is competitive with GPT-4 in many areas but uses 40 per cent
less computing power for training.
• It achieves 94 per cent of the average performance of GPT-4 on various IQ-oriented tasks. Inflection-2.5
also outperforms its predecessor Inflection-1 on the MMLU benchmark and performs at the 85th
percentile of human test-takers on the Physics GRE.
• In essence, Inflection-2.5 retains the Pi chatbot’s unique persona along with maintaining extraordinary
safety standards.
• The model achieves this all the while making the chatbot a more helpful model across the board.
• Inflection AI based in Palo Alto, California was founded by Mustafa Suleyman, Reid Hoffman, and
Karen Simonyan in 2022 to create personal AI for everyone.
• Suleyman is a British AI researcher who was the co-founder and former head of applied AI at
DeepMind, while Hoffman is the co-founder of LinkedIn.
• In June last year, the company raised $1.3 billion in a funding round led by Microsoft, Reid Hoffman,
Eric Schmidt, Bill Gates, and NVIDIA.
QUESTIONS
Fill in the Blank:
1. Two Large Language Models (LLMs) have been launched that are closer to or even better at tasks
than OpenAI’s _________.
2. With the upgraded language model Inflection-2.5, the company has enhanced the emotional quotient
of the _________.
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 3. Inflection AI is based in _________.
4. According to the company, _________ is competitive with GPT-4 in many areas but uses
_________ per cent less computing power for training.
5. The full Form of AI is _________ and GPT is _________.

5. India signs trade agreement with EFTA:

What is the significance of the deal?
• India signed a trade agreement with the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA), an
intergovernmental grouping of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
• The deal brings in $100 billion in investment over 15 years, with the EFTA looking at joint ventures that
will help India diversify imports away from China.
Why is the timing of the signing crucial for India?
• Over 64 countries, including India, are headed into elections this year, which could mean a long pause in
free trade agreements (FTAs) for India and its trade partners.
• However, time is running out as the global supply chain is fast undergoing a reset with investment, for
the first time in the recent past, moving away from China.
• While India is seen as a top contender by global inventors, the Vietnam-led Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN nations) and North American nations like Mexico are also emerging as
favourable investment destinations.
• A delay in streamlining investment flows and renewed attempts at global integration may turn out to be
a missed geo-political opportunity.
• While the India-EFTA trade deal has been inked, major deals such as India’s FTA with the UK and EU
still run the risk of political uncertainty.
Why did India push for investment commitment in the EFTA deal?
• India runs a trade deficit with most of its top trade partners, except for the US.
• This is also true in the case of FTAs that India has signed in the past, especially with ASEAN nations.
• While the ASEAN FTA did help India secure intermediate products, India’s increasing average tariffs
(18 per cent) have meant that India’s FTA partners have better access to the Indian market after tariff
elimination. Average tariffs in developed nations hover around 5 per cent.
• The India-EFTA deal is also expected to widen the trade gap.
• Even as the legality of the $100 billion investment commitment by EFTA remains unclear, such investment
could help India generate economic activity and jobs in exchange for giving market access to EFTA.
• Moreover, India could see gains in the services sector and the deal could help India power its services
sector further.
Which Indian sectors could EFTA investment benefit?
• The funds from the EFTA region include Norway’s $1.6 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s
largest such ‘pension’ fund, which posted a record profit of $213 billion in 2023 on the back of strong
returns on its investments in technology stocks.
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 • India could see investment flow into the pharma, chemical sectors, food processing and engineering
sectors.
• EFTA is also looking at joint ventures (JVs) in the above-mentioned sectors that will help India
diversify imports away from China.
• Currently, India’s imports of chemical products from China in FY23 alone stood at a massive $20.08
billion.
• It imported $3.4 billion worth of medical and bulk drugs worth nearly $7 billion from China, as per
commerce and industry ministry data.
Why will it be difficult for India to access the EFTA market?
• Switzerland, which is India’s biggest trade partner among EFTA countries, decided to eliminate import
duties on all industrial goods for all countries starting from January 1, 2024.
• The abolition of tariffs on all industrial products, including chemicals, consumer goods, vehicles and
clothing is a concern for India as industrial goods accounts for 98 per cent of India’s $1.3 billion
merchandise exports to Switzerland in FY2023.
• India’s goods will face stiffer competition despite any tariff elimination that would be part of the deal.
• Think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that exporting agricultural produce to
Switzerland remains challenging due to the complex web of tariffs, quality standards, and approval
requirements.
• EFTA has not shown any inclination to make agriculture tariffs zero on most basic agricultural produce.
EFTA
• The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area
consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
• The organization operates in parallel with the European Union (EU), and all four member states
participate in the European Single Market and are part of the Schengen Area.
• They are not, however, party to the European Union Customs Union.
• EFTA was historically one of the two dominant western European trade blocs, but is now much smaller
and closely associated with its historical competitor, the European Union.
• It was established on 3 May 1960 to serve as an alternative trade bloc for those European states that
were unable or unwilling to join the then European Economic Community (EEC), the main predecessor
of the EU.
• The Stockholm Convention (1960), to establish the EFTA, was signed on 4 January 1960 in the Swedish
capital by seven countries (known as the “outer seven”: Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden,
Switzerland and the United Kingdom).
• A revised Convention, the Vaduz Convention, was signed on 21 June 2001 and entered into force on 1
June 2002.
• After 1995 only two founding members remained, namely Norway and Switzerland. The other five,
Austria, Denmark, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom, had joined the EU at some point in the
intervening years.
• The initial Stockholm Convention was superseded by the Vaduz Convention, which aimed to provide a
successful framework for continuing the expansion and liberalization of trade, both among the
organization’s member states and with the rest of the world.
• Whilst the EFTA is not a customs union and member states have full rights to enter into bilateral third-
country trade arrangements, it does have a coordinated trade policy.

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 • As a result, its member states have jointly concluded free trade agreements with the EU and a number of
other countries.
• To participate in the EU’s single market, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway are parties to the
Agreement on a European Economic Area (EEA), with compliances regulated by the EFTA
Surveillance Authority and the EFTA Court.
• Switzerland has a set of multilateral agreements with the EU and its member states instead.
QUESTIONS
Fill in the Blank:
1. EFTA is an intergovernmental grouping of Iceland, _________, Norway and Switzerland.
2. After 1995 only two founding members remained namely _________ and Switzerland. The other
five, Austria, Denmark, Portugal, Sweden and the _________, had joined the EU.
3. Full form of EFTA is _________.
4. India’s increasing average tariffs _________ have meant that India’s FTA partners have better
access to the Indian market after tariff elimination.
5. The funds from the EFTA region include Norway’s _________ sovereign wealth fund, the world’s
largest such ‘pension’ fund.
6. The initial _________ was superseded by the Vaduz Convention.
7. _________ is the capital city of Switzerland.
8. The Stockholm Convention (1960), to establish the EFTA, was signed on 4 January 1960 in the
_________ by seven countries (known as the “outer seven”: Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal,
Sweden, Switzerland and the _________).
9. Think tank _________ said that exporting agricultural produce to Switzerland remains challenging
due to the complex web of tariffs, quality standards, and approval requirements.
10. While India is seen as a top contender by global inventors, the Vietnam-led _________ countries.

6. Caught smuggling greenhouse gases:

A first-of-its kind prosecution in the US
• A California man is facing criminal charges in a San Diego court for smuggling greenhouse gases (GHGs).
• These gases, some of which are used in cooling appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators,
trap heat in the atmosphere and add to global warming.
• Tara McGrath, the US Attorney for the Southern District of California, said: “This is the first time the
Department of Justice is prosecuting someone for illegally importing greenhouse gases, and it will not
be the last. We are using every means possible to protect our planet from the harm caused by toxic
pollutants, including bringing criminal charges.”
What is the man accused of doing?
• Fifty-eight-year-old Michael Hart, who appeared in court, allegedly bought canisters of two types of
banned refrigerants or coolants used in obsolete air conditioners and refrigerators in Mexico, and
brought them to the US in his car, concealed under tarpaulin sheets and tools.

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 • He then sold the refrigerants online at marketplaces such as OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace.
• According to his indictment, Hart smuggled or illegally sold dozens of canisters of the refrigerants in
mid-to-late 2022, and claimed that he could import 15-20 “tanks” a week, Reuters reported.
What were these banned refrigerants?
• The refrigerants in question are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and a form of hydrochlorofluorocarbons
(HCFCs), known as HCFC 22.
• HFCs and HCFCs became mainstream after emerging as an alternative to chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in
the 1990s.
• For long, CFCs were the go-to refrigerants for ACs and fridges. Research published in 1985, however,
confirmed that increased levels of CFCs in the atmosphere were responsible for abnormally low ozone
concentrations above Antarctica, resulting in the so-called ozone hole.
• Refrigerants are released into the atmosphere by damaged appliances or car ACs. Ninety per cent of
refrigerant emissions are estimated to occur when equipments reached their end of life and are
improperly disposed of.
What action have countries taken to address the impact of these refrigerants?
• In 1987, almost 200 countries signed the Montreal Protocol, agreeing to freeze the production and
consumption of ozone-depleting substances, including CFCs, at then current rates.
• Under the Montreal Protocol, countries were to phase out CFCs by 1996, and HCFCs by 2030.
• HCFCs were used only as an “interim” solution to CFCs because they were less harmful to the ozone
layer.
• As a result, HFCs which, unlike CFCs and HCFCs, have zero ozone-depleting potential (ODP),
gradually became the most prominent refrigerant. But scientists soon realised that like CFCs and
HCFCs, HFCs too are powerful greenhouse gases.
• “Even in relatively small amounts they (HFCs) contribute significantly to near-term warming as
greenhouse gases which are hundreds to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2) per
unit of mass,” according to a report by Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), an international body
working to reduce powerful but short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) including methane, black carbon,
HFCs, and tropospheric ozone.
• In 2016, more than 150 countries signed the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, agreeing to
reduce consumption of HFCs by 80% by 2047. If successful, the amendment could avoid more than 0.4
degree Celsius of global warming by 2100.
What does US law say about HCFCs and HFCs?
• The Montreal Protocol was implemented in the US in 1990 by an addition to the Clean Air Act, a federal
law that regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources. “That addition identified HCFC 22
(which Hart smuggled into the US) as a regulated ozone depleting substance”, the US Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement.
• Since 2020, the US has banned the import of HCFC 22 for any purpose other than in a process which
results in its transformation or destruction.
• The American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, passed by Congress in December 2020,
authorised the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to phase down the production and
consumption of numerous forms of HFCs.
• Starting January 1, 2022, regulated HFCs cannot be imported into the US in bulk without the EPA’s
permission. “No person may sell or distribute, or offer for sale or distribution, any regulated HFC that
was imported illegally,” the ICE statement said.
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What happens to Hart now?
• The 13-count criminal indictment against Hart includes charges of conspiracy, illegally importing
regulated goods, and selling illegally imported goods.
• “The individual counts carry penalties as high as 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines, as well as
criminal forfeiture,”.
Greenhouse Gases
• Greenhouse gases are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as
the Earth.
• What distinguishes them from other gases is that they absorb the wavelengths of radiation that a planet
emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect.
• The Earth is warmed by sunlight, causing its surface to radiate heat, which is then mostly absorbed by
greenhouse gases.
• Without greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the average temperature of Earth’s surface would be about
−18 °C (0 °F), rather than the present average of 15 °C (59 °F).
• The most abundant greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere, listed in decreasing order of average global
mole fraction, are: Water vapor (H2O), Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O),
Ozone (O3), Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs and HCFCs), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Perfluorocarbons
(CF4, C2F6, etc.), SF6, and NF3.
• Yet, while water vapor is a potent greenhouse gas, humans are not directly adding to its concentrations.
• On the other hand, carbon dioxide is causing about three quarters of global warming and can take
thousands of years to be fully absorbed by the carbon cycle.
• Methane causes most of the remaining warming and lasts in the atmosphere for an average of 12 years.
• Human activities since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution have increased atmospheric methane
concentrations by over 150% and carbon dioxide by over 50%, up to a level not seen in over 3 million
years.
• The vast majority of carbon dioxide emissions by humans come from the combustion of fossil fuels,
principally coal, petroleum (including oil) and natural gas.
• Additional contributions come from cement manufacturing, fertilizer production, and changes in land
use like deforestation.
• Methane emissions originate from agriculture, fossil fuel production, waste, and other sources.
• According to Berkeley Earth, average global surface temperature has risen by more than 1.2 °C (2.2 °F)
since the pre-industrial (1850–1899) period as a result of greenhouse gas emissions.
• If current emission rates continue then temperature rises will surpass 2.0 °C (3.6 °F) sometime between
2040 and 2070, which is the level the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) says is “dangerous”.
QUESTIONS
Fill in the Blank:
1. A California man is facing criminal charges in a San Diego court for smuggling _________.
2. Greenhouse gases are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such
as the _________.
3. The Earth is warmed by sunlight, causing its surface to _________ heat, which is then mostly
absorbed by _________ gases.

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 4. Without greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the average temperature of Earth’s surface would be
about _________, rather than the present average of _________.
5. Water vapor is a potent greenhouse gas that humans are not directly adding to its concentrations.
6. According to Berkeley Earth, average global surface temperature has risen by more than _________.
7. Human activities since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution have increased atmospheric
methane concentrations by over _________ and carbon dioxide by over _________ up to a level not
seen in over 3 million years.
8. Methane emissions originate from _________, fossil fuel production, waste, and other sources.
9. If current emission rates continue then temperature rises will surpass _________ sometime between
2040 and 2070.
10. As a result, HFCs which, unlike _________ and _________ have zero ozone-depleting potential
(ODP), gradually became the most prominent refrigerant.

7. Pritzker Prize 2024: Japanese housing

pioneer Riken Yamamoto wins ‘Nobel of
architecture’
• Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto was declared winner of the 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the
highest international award in the field, which is sometimes referred to as the “Architecture Nobel”.
• The prize has been awarded every year since its founding in 1979, and Yamamoto is the ninth laureate
from Japan.
• In the Pritzker Prize’s 45-year history, no country has produced more winners than Japan.
• And Riken Yamamoto was named the ninth and latest Japanese laureate of an award often dubbed the
“Nobel of architecture.”
• Best-known for innovative housing projects and educational institutions, Yamamoto is something of a
surprise choice.
• But in a press statement announcing the decision, jury chair and former winner Alejandro Aravena
described him as “a reassuring architect who brings dignity to everyday life.”
• He added: “Normality becomes extraordinary. Calmness leads to splendor.”
• Across a five-decade career, Yamamoto has dedicated himself to fostering community in Japan’s rapidly
expanding cities.
• From housing projects that coax residents into spontaneous interactions to a glass-walled fire station that
invites passersby to peer inside, his architecture appears intent on “blurring boundaries between its
public and private dimensions,” a jury citation added.
• As such, Yamamoto has more in common with other recent winners of the Pritzker Prize — an award
that increasingly favors socially-minded architects over the creators of iconic landmarks — than with the
Japanese laureates of eras past.
• It is a point of difference tracing back to the early 1970s: While many of his avant-garde compatriots
(most notably 1987 Pritzker laureate Kenzo Tange) advocated conceptual floating cities and grand
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 “megastructures,” Yamamoto was driving across the continents with his mentor to see how people lived
in villages around the world.
• What Yamamoto found, whether in north Africa or central America, was that human societies were
traditionally built around a fluid threshold between private and shared spaces — between villages and
the households within them. In modern metropolises, however, this divide has become entrenched to the
detriment of their inhabitants.
• Social isolation is a concern for both architecture and urban planning. Yamamoto said that cities’
preference for zoning, which governs how land is used, often keeps daily life and commercial activity
apart; soaring residential towers (or “tower mansions” as he called them, using a direct but fitting
translation of the Japanese term for high-rise condos) meanwhile reinforce what he called the “one
family, one house” system.
Transparency of design
• Yamamoto’s solution has been housing that encourages neighbors and the public to come together — a
form of architectural intervention that “suggests rather than imposes,” as the Pritzker Prize jury put it.
• After designing a succession of private homes in his early career, Yamamoto completed his first social
housing project, in the coastal city of Kumamoto, in 1991.
• Hoping to inspire a sense of openness, he arranged its 110 homes into 16 clusters around a tree-lined
central courtyard.
• The central public space has no gates and can only be reached by passing through the housing blocks, a
scheme designed to increase the likelihood of chance encounters.
• Elsewhere, the Shinonome Canal Court project in Tokyo saw Yamamoto connect six huge residential
blocks with a second-floor deck comprising terraces and shared green spaces.
• Pangyo Housing in Seongnam, South Korea (which is among a handful of projects the architect
completed outside Japan) also linked homes via communal decks, though the development boasted an
altogether more radical design feature: glass walls on the ground level of each residence invited
neighbors to look inside one another’s houses.
• The clear glass facade, walls and floors of the fire station he designed in Hiroshima offer pedestrians a
rare glimpse inside an institution that, while publicly funded, often hides its inner workings.
• At the Saitama Prefectural University and Future University (in Koshigaya and Hakodate, respectively),
soaring windows provide unobstructed views between classrooms and even departments in the hope of
stimulating academic collaboration.
Changing the system
• If Yamamoto’s civic gestures sound like simple solutions to urban ills, maybe that’s because — by his
own reckoning — they are: “It’s very easy to make a community space and public space,” he said,
framing his ethos as a return to the way public space operated in medieval Europe or Edo-period Japan.
• And yet, politics and profit have sometimes stood in the way.
• Yamamoto expressed dismay that more than 30 years after completing his aforementioned housing
project in Kumamoto, his vision of shops and cafes occupying its lower reaches has not yet come to
fruition due to local zoning regulations. Perhaps a greater challenge, he added, comes from property
developers accustomed to promoting the benefits of standalone private homes.
• “Of course, political support is very important. But I think developers (should) change their minds a
little bit.
• They believe that ‘one house, one family’ is the best way. I propose to the developer: change the
system.”

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 • First awarded to American architect Philip Johnson in 1979, the Pritzker Prize recognizes what it
describes as architects’ “consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment.”
• Yamamoto, who has also completed buildings in China and Switzerland, is the latest in a string of
laureates recognized for their commitment to the public and civic realms.
• Last year’s award went to British architect David Chipperfield, who is best-known for cultural
institutions like Des Moines Public Library in Iowa his reimagined Neues Museum in Berlin.
• In 2022, Francis Kéré became the first ever African laureate in recognition of a career designing schools,
health centers and community facilities.
• The Japanese architect will be awarded with $100,000 and a bronze medallion.
Pritzker Prize
• The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually “to honor a
living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent,
vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and
the built environment through the art of architecture.”
• Founded in 1979 by Jay A. Pritzker and his wife Cindy, the award is funded by the Pritzker family and
sponsored by the Hyatt Foundation.
• It is considered to be one of the world’s premier architecture prizes, and is often referred to as the Nobel
Prize of architecture.
• The Pritzker Architecture Prize claims to be awarded “irrespective of nationality, race, creed, or
ideology”.
• The recipients receive US$100,000, a citation certificate, and, since 1987, a bronze medallion.
• The designs on the medal are inspired by the work of architect Louis Sullivan, while the Latin inspired
inscription on the reverse of the medallion—firmitas, utilitas, venustas is from Ancient Roman architect
Vitruvius.
• Before 1987, a limited edition Henry Moore sculpture accompanied the monetary prize.
• The Executive Director of the prize, Manuela Lucá-Dazio, solicits nominations from a range of people,
including past Laureates, academics, critics and others “with expertise and interest in the field of
architecture”.
• Any licensed architect can also make a personal application for the prize before November 1 every year.
• The jury, consisting of five to nine “experts ... recognized professionals in their own fields of
architecture, business, education, publishing, and culture”, deliberates and early in the following year
announce the winner.
• The prize Chair is the 2016 Pritzker laureate Alejandro Aravena; earlier chairs were J. Carter Brown
(1979–2002), the Lord Rothschild (2003–2004), the Lord Palumbo (2005–2015), Glenn Murcutt (2016–
2018) and Stephen Breyer (2019–2020).
QUESTIONS
Fill in the Blank:
1. In the Pritzker Prize’s 45-year history, no country has produced more winners than _________.
2. The _________ is an international architecture award presented annually “to honor a living architect
or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and
commitment
3. Prize is founded in _________ by Jay A. Pritzker and his wife Cindy, the award is funded by the
Pritzker family and sponsored by the _________.
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 4. Japanese architect _________ was declared winner of the 2024.
5. The Indian architect _________ is first to receive the Pritzker Prize, in 2018.
6. The recipients receive _________, a citation certificate, and, since 1987, a bronze medallion.
7. Last year’s award went to British architect _________, who is best-known for cultural institutions
like Des Moines Public Library in Iowa his reimagined Neues Museum in Berlin.
8. _________ is considered to be one of the world’s premier architecture prizes, and is often referred to
as the _________.

8. Why scientists voted down proposal to

declare start of the Anthropocene — and
what it means
• From the peak of Mount Everest to the depths of the Mariana Trench, the evidence of human activity is
unmissable — and possibly indelible.
• Yet, a committee of 18 scientists have voted down a proposal to declare the start of the Anthropocene, or
the “Human Epoch”, in geologic time.
A timeline of Planet Earth
• Geoscientists, or scientists who study the Earth, use the geologic time scale (GTS) to measure the
history of the planet.
• The GTS (since the formation of Earth, roughly 4.54 billion years ago) is divided, in descending order of
duration, into aeons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages.
• The GTS is based on chronostratigraphic classification. Stratigraphy is a branch of geology that deals
with the study of rock layers (or strata). Chronostratigraphy (“chrono”: relating to time) is an aspect of
stratigraphy that deals with the relation between rock strata and the measurement of geological time.
• Chronostratigraphic units are not uniform — any two aeons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages do not
encompass the same length of time (like days or minutes).
• Rather, transition from one to another is marked by events (often violent, such as mass extinctions) that
shape the planet and its living conditions. Importantly, each interval of Earth time must have a clear,
objective, universally applicable starting point.
• Currently, we are living in the Phanerozoic aeon, during the Cenozoic era, in the Quaternary period, the
Holocene epoch, and the Meghalayan age.
The proposed ‘Human Epoch’
• The Holocene epoch (from the Greek “holos”, meaning ‘whole’, and “kainos”, meaning “new”) began
some 11,700 years ago, at the end of the Last Glacial Period (LGP).
• During the LGP, up to 25% of the Earth’s land surface was covered by glaciers, the mean sea level was
up to 400 feet lower, and the average temperature fell to 8 degree Celsius.
• The Holocene saw the warming of the Earth, which closely corresponded with the rise and proliferation
of human beings. While Homo sapiens as a species had evolved well before the Holocene began, all of
humanity’s recorded history falls in this epoch.
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 • Since the year 2000, when the Dutch meteorologist Paul Crutzen and American botanist Eugene
Stoermer coined the term Anthropocene, the idea of a separate ‘human’ epoch (“Anthropo”: relating to
humankind) has excited many geoscientists.
• Proponents of Anthropocene argue that humans have changed the Earth to such an extent that a new
geological epoch has begun.
• The Anthropocene Working Group (AWG), a 37-member research group, began deliberations in 2009 to
come up with a starting point for the epoch and, after years of deliberation, decided on the year 1952.
• The period after World War II is seen as the “Great Acceleration”, during which the human population
skyrocketed, the burning of fossil fuels surged, the fallout of nuclear tests spread across the planet, the
use of nitrogen-based fertilisers became rampant, and plastics became ubiquitous.
Rejection of the proposal
• The AWG submitted its proposal to the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), the
representative body of more than a million geoscientists from more than 120 countries and regions
devoted to international cooperation in the field of geology, last fall.
• The proposal was taken up for a vote by the Sub commission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS), a
constituent body of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), the largest scientific
organisation within the IUGS.
• The SQS voted 12 to 4 against the proposal, with two abstentions.
• The IUGS committee determined that adding an Anthropocene epoch — and terminating the Holocene
— was not supported by the standards used to define epochs according to chronostratigraphy.
• The boundaries between epochs typically tend to represent truly massive geological change.
• “Our last boundary, between the Holocene and the Pleistocene, was almost one-third of this planet being
covered by ice,” Joseph Desloges, a professor at the University of Toronto who studies the impact of
climate change and human disturbance on geomorphic processes.
• Again, GTS is based on records in solid rocks, not sediments like the ones in Crawford Lake, Ontario,
Canada, which AWG’s proposal had selected as the physical site which most clearly showed a definitive
break between the Holocene and the Anthropocene.
Anthropocene
• The Anthropocene is a proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant human
impact on Earth until now.
• It affects Earth’s geology, landscape, limnology, ecosystems and climate.
• The effects of human activities on Earth can be seen for example in biodiversity loss and climate
change.
• Various start dates for the Anthropocene have been proposed, ranging from the beginning of the
Neolithic Revolution (12,000–15,000 years ago), to as recently as the 1960s as a starting date.
• In May 2019, the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) voted in favour of submitting a formal proposal
to the ICS by 2021.
• The proposal located potential stratigraphic markers to the mid-20th century.
• This time period coincides with the start of the Great Acceleration, a post-World War II time period
during which global population growth, pollution and exploitation of natural resources have all
increased at a dramatic rate.
• The Atomic Age also started around the mid-20th century, when the risks of nuclear wars, nuclear
terrorism and nuclear accidents increased.

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 • The Anthropocene Working Group of the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) of the ICS
voted in April 2016 to proceed towards a formal golden spike (GSSP) proposal to define the
Anthropocene epoch in the geologic time scale.
• The group presented the proposal to the International Geological Congress in August 2016.
• As of March 2024, neither the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) nor the International
Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) has approved the term as an official subdivision of geologic time.
• In March 2024, after over 15 years of deliberation, a proposal by the IUGS to ratify the Anthropocene
was voted down by a wide margin, primarily due to a dispute over the proposed start time in the mid-
20th century. However, an option remains to appeal or challenge these results.
• Although the biologist Eugene F. Stoermer is often credited with coining the term anthropocene, it was
already in informal use in the mid-1970s.
• Paul J. Crutzen re-invented and popularised the term.
QUESTIONS
Fill in the Blank:
1. Geoscientists, or scientists who study the Earth, use the _________ to measure the history of the
planet.
2. A committee of 18 scientists have voted down a proposal to declare the start of the _________ or the
_________ in geologic time.
3. The period after World War II is seen as the _________ during which the human population
skyrocketed.
4. During the LGP, up to 25% of the Earth’s land surface was covered by glaciers, the mean sea level
was up to 400 feet lower, and the average temperature fell to _________.
5. The concept of the _________ as a transformative time for the planet due to human activity remains
very much relevant.

9. Kerala declares man-animal conflict a

state-specific disaster
• Amid repeated deaths from animal attacks and rising anger over them, Kerala declared man-animal
conflict as a state-specific disaster, becoming the first state in the country to do so.
What changes?
• At present, managing man-animal conflict is the responsibility of the forest department, which acts as
per the Wild Life Protection Act.
• Once the issue is declared a state-specific disaster, the onus to deal with it shifts to the state disaster
management authority, which, powered by the Disaster Management Act, can take quicker and more
decisive action.
• At the state level, the Chief Minister is the ex officio chairman of the body, and several departments,
including the forest department, are stakeholders.
• In the districts, the district disaster management authority is headed by the district collector, who is also
the executive magistrate.
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 • Once an issue is declared a state-specific disaster or a national disaster, the disaster management
authority can take quick decisions and actions overriding all other norms.
• Also, district collectors can directly intervene in their capacity as the chairman of the district disaster
body.
Why the change
• In the past few weeks, every time a life has been lost to man-animal conflict, there has been a mounting
chorus to tranquilise/capture/kill the animals responsible.
• At present, the chief wildlife warden — there is only one such post in the state — is the only authority to
take a call on a wild animal wreaking havoc in human settlement.
• Also, in the past, there have been cases where the decision to tranquilise a killer animal, such as a wild
elephant, has been questioned in court.
• Once the issue is under the disaster management authority, it can take actions overriding other norms,
including those under the Wildlife Protection Act.
• As per section 71 of the Disaster Management Act, no court (except the Supreme Court or a High Court)
shall have jurisdiction to entertain any suit or proceeding in respect of anything done by relevant
authorities in pursuance of any power conferred by this Act.
• Section 72 of the Act says that the provisions of this Act will have an overriding effect on any other law
during the specific period that a disaster has been declared.
Other state-specific disasters
• In 2015, Odisha had declared snakebite a state-specific disaster.
• In 2020, Kerala declared Covid as a state specific disaster.
• Besides, heat waves, sunburn and sunstroke have been declared so in 2019, the phenomenon of soil
piping in 2017, and lightning and coastal erosion in 2015.
Disaster Management Act
• The Disaster Management Act, 2005, was passed by the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament
of India on 28 November, and the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament, on 12 December 2005.
• It received the assent of The President of India on 23 December 2005.
• The Disaster Management Act, 2005 has 11 chapters and 79 sections.
• The Act extends to the whole of India.
• The Act provides effective management of disasters and for matters connected there with or incidental
“thereto”.
• The main focus of this act is to provide the people who are affected with disasters, their life back and
helping them.
• The Act calls for the establishment of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), with the
Prime Minister of India as chairperson.
• The NDMA may have no more than nine members including a Vice-Chairperson.
• The tenure of the members of the NDMA shall be five years.
• The NDMA which was initially established on 30 May 2005 by an executive order, was constituted
under Section-3(1) of the Disaster Management Act, on 27 September 2006.
• The NDMA is responsible for “laying down the policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management”
and to ensure “timely and effective response to disaster”.

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 • Under section 6 of the Act it is responsible for laying “down guidelines to be followed by the State
Authorities in drawing up the State Plans”.
• The Act under Section 8 enjoins the Central Government to Constitute a National Executive Committee
(NEC) to assist the National Authority.
• The NEC is composed of Secretary level officers of the Government of India in the Ministries of home,
agriculture, atomic energy, defence, drinking water supply, environment and forests, finance
(expenditure), health, power, rural development, science and technology, space, telecommunication,
urban development, and water resources, with the Home secretary serving as the Chairperson, ex officio.
• The Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff of the Chiefs of Staff Committee is an ex officio member of
the NEC.
• The NEC under section of the Act is responsible for the preparation of the National Disaster
Management Plan for the whole country and to ensure that it is “reviewed and updated annually”.
Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972
• The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for protection of
plants and animal species.
• Before 1972, India had only five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established
scheduled protected plant and hunting certain animal species or harvesting these species was largely
outlawed.
• The Act provides for the protection of wild animals, birds and plants; and for matters connected
therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto. It extends to the whole of India.
• It has six schedules which give varying degrees of protection. Schedule I and part II of Schedule II
provide absolute protection - offences under these are prescribed the highest penalties.
• Species listed in Schedule III and Schedule IV are also protected, but the penalties are much lower.
• Animals under Schedule V, e.g. common crows, fruit bats, rats and mice, are legally considered vermin
and may be hunted freely.
• The specified endemic plants in Schedule VI are prohibited from cultivation and planting.
• The hunting to the Enforcement authorities have the power to compound offences under this Schedule
(i.e. they impose fines on the offenders).
QUESTIONS
Fill in the Blank:
1. _________ declared man-animal conflict as a state-specific disaster, becoming the first state in the
country to do so.
2. At present, managing man-animal conflict is the responsibility of the forest department, which acts
as per the _________.
3. The _________ is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for protection of plants and animal
species.
4. Before 1972, India had only _________ designated national parks.
5. The _________, was passed by the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India on 28
November, and the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament, on 12 December 2005.
6. The Act calls for the establishment of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), with the
_________ as chairperson.
7. In 2015, _________ had declared snakebite a state-specific disaster.

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 8. The NDMA may have no more than _________ members including a Vice-Chairperson.
9. The NDMA which was initially established on 30 May 2005 by an executive order, was constituted
under _________ of the Disaster Management Act, on 27 September 2006.
10. At present, the _________ — there is only one such post in the state — is the only authority to take a
call on a wild animal wreaking havoc in human settlement.

10. Bengaluru’s first driverless metro train,

aided by AI
• The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) received the first set of six train coaches,
which are part of the Communication-based Train Control (CBTC) system for its under-construction
yellow line last month. It is now set to undergo various safety tests.
• The 18.8 km-long line, connecting RV Road and Bommasandra, will be the first to have a driverless
train.
• The route connects south of Bengaluru to the city’s tech hub, which has offices of companies such as
Infosys, Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services.
• It is also expected to decongest the traffic on Hosur Road, which borders Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
• A fully elevated route with 16 stations, the line connects with the existing Green Line of the Bengaluru
metro at the RV Road station and with the Pink Line at Jayadeva Hospital station.
What is a CBTC-enabled driverless metro train?
• According to the Indian Railways’ handbook, CBTC technology is a modern communication-based
system that uses radio communication to transfer timely and accurate train control information.
• The yellow line will have Unattended Train Operations (UTO), allowing full automation in tasks such as
opening and closing of doors and stoppage and movement of trains, and Enhanced Supervision
Capability from the Operations Control Centre (OCC).
• The train then undergoes an automatic self-check to ensure its technical fitness. It will go through
automated washing plants for cleaning, before moving to the platforms. At night, the train will enter a
“sleep mode”.
Who has manufactured and designed these trains?
• The coaches for the driverless Bengaluru Metro are manufactured by Chinese firm CRRC Nanjing
Puzhen Co Ltd, along with their domestic partners Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd. as part of the Make in
India Initiative.
• The Chinese firm won a Rs. 1,578 crore contract in 2019 to supply 216 coaches to BMRCL.
How is Bengaluru Metro tapping into AI for the first time?
• AI will be used to monitor tracks on the new line for the safety of operations.
• AI algorithms can analyse data from sensors to detect anomalies such as cracks, wear and tear or other
irregularities along the track.
• Cameras mounted on trains can capture visual data and AI-powered systems can analyse it in real-time
to detect safety concerns.

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What are the other special features of the driverless metro train?
• Hot axle detection system: It is a train monitoring system that detects overheating in the bearings of the
trains. Temperature data and diagnostic data are transmitted to OCC via an onboard antenna, wayside
wireless equipment and telecom network at designated stations.
• Real-time location: The driverless train is equipped with an LCD-type dynamic route map. This will
provide information on doors opening or closing and on the arrival/departure.
• Front view and rear-view camera: Rear-view cameras are on both sides of the cars so that train
operators can view the passengers boarding and deboarding before train departure.
• The front-facing camera will record the front images for safety/security purposes during driverless
operations.
• Emergency Egress Device (EED) unit: During an emergency, passengers can operate the handle till it
reaches the ‘REQUEST’ position. A request will go to the OCC/train operator, who will check the
situation via CCTV camera and let the door unlock.
What safety tests must the train undergo before commencing operations?
• The testing of the prototype train will begin at the Hebbagodi Depot. After three to four days of static
testing, the train will be undergoing elaborate tests on the mainline.
• The train will be tested on collisions, and detection of obstacles, among other features.
• System integration tests with the Signaling system, Telecommunications system, and Power Supply
system will be carried out.
• Statutory safety tests will include trials by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO)
and the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS). Based on their approvals, technical approval of
the Railway Board will be obtained before introducing trains for revenue service.
Will the driverless train really be driverless?
• Bengaluru’s driverless train will consist of a train operator for at least six months, initially, before
beginning driverless operations.
• Further, they will begin revenue operations with seven trains operating with a 15-minute frequency, until
the rest of the trains are delivered.
• Unlike Delhi’s driverless metro train, BMRCL’s train is retrofitted and designed with the driverless
feature from the beginning. He adds that adding the feature later would incur huge expenses.
When will the driverless trains be operational?
• The BMRCL has missed multiple deadlines, owing to the delay in the delivery of the rolling stocks from
China.
• The manufacturing of trains is also underway at a slow pace because of the lack of facilities at Titagarh,
which does not have full-fledged experience in building stainless steel body trains.
• Further, the train has to undergo at least 37 tests on the mainline for four months and signalling tests for
at least 45 days.
• The yellow line, which was set to be operational in 2022, is now expected to start only by December 2024.
QUESTIONS
Fill in the Blank:
1. The _________ Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) received the first set of six train coaches,
which are part of the Communication-based Train Control (CBTC) system for its under-construction
yellow line.

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 2. The driverless train is equipped with an _________ dynamic route map.
3. During an emergency, passengers can operate the handle till it reaches the _________ position.
4. Unlike Delhi’s driverless metro train, _________ train is retrofitted and designed with the driverless
feature from the beginning.
5. Bengaluru’s driverless train will consist of a train operator for at least six months, initially, before
beginning driverless operations.
6. _________ will be used to monitor tracks on the new line for the safety of operations.
7. BEML Limited is an Indian public sector undertaking which manufactures a variety of heavy
equipment, such as that used for earth moving, railways, transport and mining. It is headquartered in
_________. BEML is Asia’s _________ largest manufacturer of earth moving equipment.
8. The coaches for the driverless Bengaluru Metro are manufactured by Chinese firm CRRC Nanjing
Puzhen Co Ltd, along with their domestic partners _________ as part of the Make in India Initiative.
9. According to the Indian Railways’ handbook, _________ technology is a modern communication-
based system that uses radio communication to transfer timely and accurate train control
information.
10. _________ is a train monitoring system that detects overheating in the bearings of the trains.

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