21 March 2025 Current Affairs

  Clashes In Manipur And SC  

Justice BR Gavai, along with Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, MM Sundresh, KV Viswanathan, and N Kotiswar Singh, will visit the relief camps on March 22 as part of the Manipur High Court's duodecennial celebrations.

Summary of Recent Developments on Manipur Violence:

1. SC Judges' Visit to Manipur

• Six Supreme Court (SC) judges, led by Justice B.R. Gavai, decided to visit Manipur to assess the situation.

Background on the Manipur Conflict:

1. Ethnic Tensions

a. Ongoing ethnic conflict between the Meitei (majority in Imphal Valley) and Kuki-Zomi tribes (dominant in the hill areas).

b. The violence erupted in May 2023, triggered by:

• Protests by Kuki tribes against the Manipur High Court’s recommendation to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Meitei community.
• Perceived threat to the tribal identity and land rights of the Kuki-Zomi community.

On February 13, four days after Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s resignation, the Union government announced that President’s rule has been implemented in the violence-hit State. 

  Cabinet Approves Insentives For UPI Payment To Banks.  

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Rs 1,500-crore incentive scheme to promote BHIM-UPI transactions below Rs 2,000 for financial year 2024-25.

Incentive Structure

• 0.15% incentive per transaction (for amounts up to ₹2,000).
• 80% of the admitted claim by acquiring banks will be disbursed unconditionally.
• 10% additional incentive if technical decline rate is below 0.75%.
• Final 10% incentive if system uptime is greater than 99.5%.

Expert Opinion

• Ramakrishnan Ramamurthy (Worldline India) highlighted the high cost of setting up payment infrastructure in smaller towns.
• The incentive will boost digital payments and reduce reliance on cash by making payment systems more affordable.

Background: UPI & Digital Payments in India

1. What is UPI?

• Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a real-time payment system launched by NPCI in 2016.
• Allows instant fund transfers between bank accounts using mobile apps.
• Major UPI apps: BHIM, Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, etc.

2. Growth of Digital Payments in India

• Digital payments grew rapidly with Demonetization (2016) and COVID-19 pandemic.
• UPI transactions surpassed ₹17 lakh crore monthly by early 2024.
• India is the global leader in digital transactions, surpassing China and the USA.

3. Government’s Role

• Zero MDR policy (No merchant fees on UPI) to promote adoption.
• Expansion of UPI Lite & UPI 123PAY to enable payments for users without smartphones or internet.
• Collaboration with countries like Singapore & UAE for cross-border UPI transactions.

The new ₹1,500 crore incentive scheme aligns with India's vision to become a cashless economy and strengthen digital financial inclusion. 

India AI mission and Gates foundation to sign pact on AI.

The Union government’s IndiaAI Mission will soon sign a memorandum of understanding with the Gates Foundation to cooperate on “AI solutions for better crops, stronger healthcare, smarter education & climate resilience,” Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said on X on Wednesday (March 19, 2025).

Summary: IndiaAI Mission & Gates Foundation Collaboration

1. MoU Between IndiaAI Mission & Gates Foundation

a. IndiaAI Mission to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Gates Foundation.

b. Focus on AI-driven solutions in:

• Agriculture (Better crop yields)
• Healthcare (Stronger medical systems)
• Education (Smarter learning methods)
• Climate resilience (Predictive climate measures)
• Announcement made by Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on March 19, 2025.

2. Bill Gates' India Visit & Engagements

a. Met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister Vaishnaw.

b. Discussed AI’s role in rural development, healthcare, and agriculture.

c. Highlighted AI-powered farming techniques in Odisha that help farmers:

• Predict weather patterns
• Choose optimal crops
• Reduce disease risks

3. IndiaAI Mission’s Recent Initiatives

• Promotes AI development, research, and usage across sectors.
• Providing computing infrastructure (e.g., shared GPU resources) to startups and researchers.

Background: IndiaAI Mission & Gates Foundation

1. IndiaAI Mission

a. Launched by the Indian government to boost AI research & innovation.

b. Focus areas include:

• AI computing infrastructure
• AI talent development
• AI applications in governance, healthcare, education, and agriculture
• Supports startups and researchers with AI resources like high-performance computing (HPC) systems.

Unlawful Regulation": Elon Musk's X Sues Centre, Alleges Censorship

Social media giant 'X' (formerly Twitter), owned by US billionaire Elon Musk, has filed a lawsuit in the Karnataka High Court against the Indian government, challenging what it calls unlawful content regulation and arbitrary censorship.

X vs. Indian Government Over IT Act Interpretation

1. Key Issue

• Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has filed a lawsuit in the Karnataka High Court against the Indian government.

Challenge: The use of Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, which X claims enables unlawful content regulation and arbitrary censorship.

• Landmark Supreme Court case that struck down Section 66A of the IT Act, which was used to arrest individuals for online speech.
• Ruling on Content Blocking: Supreme Court ruled that content can only be removed through due process under Section 69A, ensuring a legal review.

2. X’s Allegations

• Government bypassing due process: Using Section 79(3)(b) to create a parallel content-blocking mechanism instead of following the structured legal process under Section 69A.
• Violation of Supreme Court ruling (Shreya Singhal case, 2015): The case established that content can only be blocked through judicial or legal procedures.
• Risk to free speech: Arbitrary content takedowns without oversight could undermine online free expression.

3. Government’s Stand

a. Ministry of I&B’s Interpretation of Section 79(3)(b):

• Platforms must remove illegal content when ordered by a court or government notification.
• Failure to comply within 36 hours can lead to loss of safe harbor protection under Section 79(1), making platforms legally liable.

4. X’s Objection to Sahyog Portal

• Sahyog portal, launched by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), aims to streamline takedown requests under Section 79(3)(b).
• X refused to onboard an employee, calling it a "censorship tool" used to pressure platforms.
• Governs digital communication, cybersecurity, data protection, and online content regulation in India.

6th Round Of Remittance Survey .

The results of the sixth round of RBI’s India’s remittances survey covering 2023-24 released on Wednesday shows that the share of advanced economies in India’s inward remittances has risen to surpass the share of Gulf nations.

RBI Survey: Key Trends in India's Remittances (2023-24)

1. Shift in Migration Patterns

• More skilled Indian migrants are moving abroad, leading to a shift in remittance sources.
• Advanced economies (like the US, UK, Canada, and Australia) now contribute more to remittances than Gulf nations.

2. Major Sources of Remittances (2023-24)

a. Top countries:

• United States (27.7%) - Highest share, up from 22.9% in 2016-17.
• UAE (19.2%) - Dropped from 26.9% in 2016-17.
• UK, Singapore, Canada, and Australia - Together account for over 50% of remittances.
• GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) nations - Contributed 37.9%, down from 46.7% in 2016-17.

3. Occupational Differences in Migration

a. UAE & GCC nations:

• Majority of Indian migrants in blue-collar jobs (construction, hospitality, healthcare).

b. US & other advanced economies:

• 78% of Indian migrants work in high-earning white-collar jobs (management, business, science, arts).

4. Major Recipient States (2023-24)

•  Maharashtra (20.5%) - Now top recipient (overtaking Kerala).
• Kerala (previous leader, now 2nd place).
• Tamil Nadu (10.4%) - Increased share from 8% in 2016-17.

5. Global & Future Outlook

a. India’s share in global remittances:

• 2001: 11%
• 2024: 14%
• 2029 (Projection): $160 billion in remittances.

b. Other major remittance-receiving countries:

• Mexico, China, Philippines, France, Pakistan, Bangladesh.

6. Digitalization & Cost Reduction

• 73.5% of remittances in 2023-24 were received through digital modes.
• Lower remittance costs due to increasing digital transfers.

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