Geographical Indication (GI) tag

Why is in news?

GI-tagged Udangudi palm jaggery will be showcased at a expo in Chennai.

About Geographical Indication (GI) tag:

• Geographical Indications (GI) are a form of intellectual property rights that protect the products or goods that originate from a specific geographical region and have distinctive qualities or reputations associated with that region.
• It is issued as per the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act,1999 by the Geographical Indication Registry under the Department of Industry Promotion and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• GI can be applied to agricultural, handicraft, industrial, or food products.
• Geographical Indication tags in India are valid for 10 years, and after this period, they can be renewed to continue safeguarding the product’s unique identity and reputation.
• Darjeeling Tea of West Bengal was the first product to receive the GI tag in India.

About Udangudi palm jaggery:

• The Palmyrah palm jaggery (gur) produced in Udangudi near Thiruchendhur region is special because of its delicious taste.
• Due to the special soil type, ground water and very dry climatic condition, the sucrose content is high which in turn adds delicious taste.
• The sweetness quality is better compared to other types of Jaggery.
• No chemical additives are being used in Udangudi Karupatti.
• Packing is done using a peculiar traditional method with palm leaves.

Deepfake

Why is in news?

Prime Minister warns against  creating deepfakes  and asked the media to educate people about such activities.

About Deepfake:

• A deepfake is a digitally forged image or video of a person that makes them appear to be someone else.
• It is the next level of fake content creation that takes advantage of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• Artificial intelligence refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions.
• It can create people who do not exist and it can fake real people saying and doing things they did not say or do.
• Deepfake technology is now being used for nefarious purposes like Scams and hoaxes, Celebrity pornography, Election manipulation, Social engineering, Automated disinformation attacks, Identity theft and financial fraud.
• In India, currently, there are no legal rules against using deepfake technology.
• However, specific laws can be addressed for misusing the tech, which include Copyright violation, Defamation, etc.
• In case of deepfake crimes, that involve capturing, publishing, or transmitting a person’s images in mass media, violating their privacy section 66E of the IT Act of 2000 is applicable. This offense is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to Rs. 2 lakh.
• Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act punish sexually explicit material in explicit form.
• Few provisions under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology Act, 2000 can be potentially invoked to deal with the malicious use of deepfakes.
• Section 500 of the IPC provides punishment for defamation.

COP28

Why is in news?

India has a critical role in Dubai climate conference: UAE official

About UNFCCC:

• The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
• It is also known as the Earth Summit, the Rio Summit or the Rio Conference.

COP:

• COP or the Conference of Parties is the apex decision making body of UNFCCC.
• It was instituted to deal with the growing threat of climate change.
• The Secretariat of UNFCCC is located in Bonn, Germany.
• The Presidency and venue of COP rotate among the five recognized UN regions – Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, Africa, Central, Eastern and Western Europe. The first COP meeting was held in Berlin, Germany in March 1995.
• It is held every year unless the Parties decide otherwise.

Paris Agreement:

• It is an international treaty on climate change that legally binds all parties involved in its goal of limiting global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. It was adopted during COP 21 in Paris in 2015.

About Cop 28:

• COP28 is the 28th session of the Conference of Parties.
• It will be held in the UAE at Dubai Expo City from November 30 to December 12, 2023.

Article 370

Why is in news?

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul is one of the five judges on the Constitution Bench that reserved judgment on the challenge to the dilution of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special privileges to Jammu and Kashmir and he is set to retire from the Supreme Court.

About Article 370:

• Article 370 is the first article of Part XXI of the Constitution – ‘Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions’.
• It exempts Jammu and Kashmir from the application of the Constitution of India (except Article 1 and Article 370 itself) and permits the state to draft its own Constitution.
• It restricts Parliament’s legislative powers in respect of J&K and for extending a central law on subjects included in the Instrument of Accession (IoA).
• IoA was signed by Raja Hari Singh of the then princely state of J&K and Governor General Lord Mountbatten in 1947.
• The IoA gave Parliament the power to legislate in respect of J&K only on Defence, External Affairs and Communications, and for extending it to other matters, “concurrence” of the state government is mandatory.

Removal of Special Status of J&K:

• Article 370(3) permits deletion of special status of J&K by a Presidential Order.
• Such an order, however, is to be preceded by the concurrence of J&K’s Constituent Assembly.
• In 2019, the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 2019, issued by the President, withdrew the special status of J&K and extended all provisions of the Indian Constitution to J&K.
• The J&K (Reorganization) Act 2019 bifurcated J&K into two UTs – J&K was an UT with a Legislative Assembly; Ladakh was without an Assembly.

 

Inclusiveness Index By US Varsity

 

• India was ranked 117th in the list of 129 countries in the world in the inclusiveness index.
• It was published by the Othering and Belonging Institute (OBI) at California University, United States.
• Smaller countries like Bangladesh (106) and Israel (115) were placed better than India.
• The index examines inclusivity in terms of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and the general population using several measures.
• The measures include out-group violence, political representation, income inequality, anti-discrimination laws, rate of incarceration, and immigration/ asylum policies.
• India was ranked last (129) in religion inclusiveness, 121st in gender, 108th in disability, 87th in race, 40th in the general population, and 39th in LGBTQ.