Daily Current Affairs and News Analysis 23-08-2025

India Elected Chairman of AIBD Executive Board: India secured the highest votes for the Chairmanship of the Executive Board of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) at the 23rd General Conference in Phuket, Thailand. This signifies strong international trust in India’s leadership.

India’s Enhanced Role in Media Cooperation: This election strengthens India’s influence in shaping global media cooperation, digital adoption, public service broadcasting, and cross-border collaboration.

India’s Continued Presidency of General Conference: India already holds the Presidency of the AIBD General Conference until August 2025, further solidifying its leadership position within the organization.

Commitment to “Media for People, Peace & Prosperity”: Shri Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO of Prasar Bharati, emphasized India’s dedication to this theme, highlighting a collaborative approach to media development.

Long-Standing Partnership: India, a founding member of AIBD since its establishment in 1977 under UNESCO, has a five-decade history of trusted partnership and commitment to collaborative media growth.

AIBD’s Focus: AIBD is an intergovernmental organization promoting regional cooperation in broadcasting, media development, and capacity building, with over 92 member organizations from 45 countries.

• To address the criminalization of politics, as many elected representatives have pending cases, eroding public trust.
• To strengthen ministerial accountability, as Ministers can influence investigations.
• To enhance public confidence in governance and maintain ethical standards.

• Amends Articles 75, 164, and 239AA to allow removal by the President on the Prime Minister’s advice if a minister is arrested and detained for 30 consecutive days for offenses punishable by five years or more imprisonment.
• Removal can be reversed upon release from custody.

• The SC cannot legislate new disqualification grounds but urged Parliament to enact strong laws for parties to revoke membership of those charged with heinous offenses.
• In Manoj Narula v Union of India, the SC suggested the PM consider not appointing individuals with criminal antecedents.
• Recent observations in cases of Ministers facing money laundering charges highlighted the tension between a minister’s position and ongoing investigations, leading to resignations or choices between “freedom or post.”

AI Entering Indian Courts: Kerala High Court released the first formal policy for AI use in district judiciary, acknowledging AI’s potential for faster translations, transcriptions, and legal research amidst over 5 crore pending cases.

Risks of Errors & Hallucinations: AI translation/transcription can lead to significant misinterpretations (e.g., “leave granted” to “holiday approved,” claimant name “Noel” to “no”). AI like OpenAI’s Whisper can “hallucinate” entire phrases, potentially weakening judgments.

Bias in Legal Research: AI legal research tools may show biased results by favouring past search patterns, hiding crucial precedents. LLMs can even invent fake case laws or cite incorrect sources, impacting fairness.

Structural Concerns & Lack of Frameworks: AI might reduce complex judgments to simple rule-based outputs, ignoring human judgment and context. Current AI pilots lack clear frameworks for data use, privacy, and sustainability.

Inadequate Risk Management: Courts are cautious but often lack robust risk management for ethical/legal issues. Human checks are insufficient against AI’s potential errors in new contexts, especially with LLM hallucinations.

Way Forward – AI Literacy & Training: Judges, lawyers, and staff need training on AI use, limitations, and risks. Judicial academies and bar associations should lead capacity-building.

Way Forward – Transparency & Litigant Rights: Clear rules for generative AI in research/judgment writing are needed. Litigants must be informed if AI is used in their case and should have opt-out options.

Way Forward – Procurement Safeguards: Courts need standardized procurement guidelines to assess AI reliability, suitability, explainability, data security, and risk management before adoption.

Ultimate Goal: AI adoption must strengthen justice delivery and not undermine human-centered adjudication.

Why in News: India faces a growing drug abuse crisis. The Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA), launched five years ago to combat this, is celebrating its anniversary with a special event on August 13, 2025, highlighting the continued need for action.

Key Challenges (DOPE):

• Dark Net & New Substances: Rise of new psychoactive substances and online illicit trade.
• Organizational & Infrastructure Gaps: Lack of trained personnel, labs, and rehab centers.
• Poor Awareness & Prevention: Inadequate education and community engagement, especially among youth.
• Exclusion & Stigma: Social stigma discourages rehabilitation.

Measures to Eradicate Drug Abuse (SAFE):

• Strengthen Law Enforcement: Enhance NDPS & PITNDPS Acts with resources and coordination.
• Awareness & Prevention: Expand de-addiction facilities and conduct awareness campaigns.
• Focus on Supply Reduction: Improve border control, use technology, and support alternative livelihoods.
• Enhance International Cooperation: Collaborate with neighboring countries and international bodies.

NMBA Achievements:

• Sensitized over 18.10 crore people, including 6.02 crore youth and 4.08 crore women.
• Engaged 4.85 lakh educational institutions.
• Trained 20,000+ Master Volunteers.
• Utilized social media and a mobile app for data collection and outreach.
• 1.67 crore students took a national online pledge to be drug-free.
• Partnered with spiritual/social service organizations for mass awareness.

Kerala Declared India’s First Fully Digitally Literate State: This marks a significant achievement in bridging the digital divide.

Digi Keralam Project at the Forefront: The initiative specifically targeted senior citizens, homemakers, and other excluded groups.

Youth Volunteers and K-SMART Platform Crucial: Youth volunteers, along with the K-SMART platform, were instrumental in providing online access and boosting inclusion.

Extensive Survey and Training: 83 lakh households were surveyed, identifying 21 lakh digitally illiterate individuals, including those over 90.

Comprehensive Training Modules: The training covered basics like photos, videos, social media, WhatsApp, and Google Search, alongside using state e-services.

High Success Rate: 99.98% of the identified digitally illiterate individuals successfully completed the program.

Building on Past Initiatives: This builds upon the earlier Akshaya project launched in 2002 to promote IT access and citizen service delivery.

Context of National Digital Literacy: This achievement stands out as India’s overall digital literacy rate is around 38%, with previous government schemes like NDLM and DISHA now closed. The current Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) has trained 6.39 crore people in rural areas.

Combating Fake News: A key component included the ‘Satyameva Jayate’ campaign against fake news.

• Why in News: This indicates a positive trend in conservation efforts and the health of the ecosystem.

• Why in News: The rise in hatchlings is an “encouraging sign” for the species’ future in the SBR.

• Why in News: This provides insights into their ecological needs and helps in targeted conservation strategies.

• Why in News: This highlights their crucial role in keeping water bodies clean and their importance for the overall Sundarbans ecosystem.

• Why in News: This points to a potential vulnerability due to climate change impacts on the Sundarbans, a critical concern for the species’ long-term survival.

• Why in News: This demonstrates successful past interventions that have contributed to the current population growth.

Shift from Content to Meaningful Learning: NCF operationalizes NEP 2020’s vision by moving education from rote memorization to holistic development, emphasizing exploration, creation, and reflection.

Restructured School Education (5+3+3+4): Replaces 10+2 structure with stages: Foundational (3-8), Preparatory (8-11), Middle (11-14), Secondary (14-18), focusing on age-appropriate learning and flexibility.

Emphasis on Foundational Literacy & Numeracy: Early years learning is play-based and activity-driven.

Multilingual Education: Mandates mother tongue instruction in early years, promoting linguistic diversity and national integration.

Competency-Based and Experiential Learning: Focuses on understanding, application, and real-world connections through projects and field visits.

Teacher Reforms (ITEP): Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) prepares teachers for student-centric classrooms, focusing on NCF approaches like play-based and multilingual learning.

Holistic Assessment (PARAKH): Progress cards beyond marks, incorporating self-reflection and peer feedback to track overall growth.

Flexible Board Exams: CBSE to conduct board exams twice a year (from 2026) for better student outcomes.

Challenges: State-level adoption variations, balancing national goals with regional identities, infrastructure gaps (especially rural), need for robust monitoring.

Measures Needed: Low-cost teacher training, real-time monitoring dashboards, community engagement, bridging rural-urban divides, expanding multidisciplinary programs.

Why in News: ECI has launched 28 initiatives in 6 months to improve electoral processes, focusing on transparency, voter participation, and democratic integrity.

Electoral Roll Management:

• 476 inactive Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs) identified for delisting.
• Special summary revision of electoral rolls for by-elections.
• Special intensive revision in Bihar for accurate rolls.
• Duplicate EPIC numbers eliminated, ensuring unique voter identification.
• Linking death registration data to update electoral rolls.

Technology-Driven Transparency:

• ECINET, a one-stop digital platform integrating 40+ apps/websites.
• 100% webcasting of polling stations for monitoring.
• Real-time voter turnout updates via ECINET App.
• Digital index cards and reports for data accessibility.
• Mandatory VVPAT slip counting for data mismatches.

Booth-Level Improvements:

• Photo ID cards for Booth Level Officers (BLOs) for transparency.
• Polling stations limited to 1,200 voters to reduce crowding.
• Candidate booths allowed beyond 100 meters of polling stations.

Voter Facilitation:

• Mobile deposit facility at polling stations for voters.
• Clearer Voter Information Slips (VIS).
• Faster EPIC delivery within 15 days of update.

Capacity Building:

• Training for BLOs, supervisors, BLAs, media officers, and police.
• Enhanced remuneration for election officials.
• Honorarium for EROs and AEROs for the first time.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Nationwide all-party meetings and regular meetings with party leadership.
• Bilateral meetings with Heads of Election Management Bodies.

The Great Calcutta Killing (August 16–19, 1946): This event, one of India’s deadliest communal riots, resulted in 5,000–10,000 deaths and widespread violence, rioting, and arson between Hindus and Muslims.

Triggered by “Direct Action Day”: The Muslim League’s call for “Direct Action Day” on August 16, 1946, to press for Pakistan, sparked the catastrophic violence.

Deepening Communal Divide: The riots exposed and exacerbated the growing divide between Hindu and Muslim communities, fueled by political tensions between the Muslim League and Congress over the issue of Partition.

Failure of Governance: Chief Minister H.S. Suhrawardy faced widespread blame for his administration’s inability to control the escalating violence, highlighting a breakdown in law and order.

Preview of Partition: The religious segregation of Calcutta during this period served as a grim precursor to the widespread bloodshed that would follow the Partition of India in 1947.

Failed Cabinet Mission Plan & Demand for Pakistan: The violence followed the failure of the Cabinet Mission Plan and the Muslim League’s intensified demand for a separate Pakistan under Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Spread of Violence: The initial riots in Calcutta led to subsequent outbreaks of violence in other regions like Noakhali, Bihar, Punjab, and the United Provinces in the months that followed.

Piprahwa Gems Repatriated: Sacred Buddhist relics, including bone fragments, gem-inlaid reliquaries, and gold ornaments linked to Lord Buddha, have been repatriated to India from Hong Kong.

• Why it’s news: This marks a significant restitution of one of India’s most precious Buddhist treasures, thought to be lost to private collections.

Historical Significance: Discovered in 1898 at the Piprahwa stupa in Uttar Pradesh, these relics are considered among the earliest archaeological evidence directly connected to Lord Buddha and his clan, the Shakyas.

• Why it’s news: They offer tangible links to the early life and teachings of Lord Buddha.

Journey from Colonial Excavation to Auction: Unearthed by W.C. Peppé during colonial times, some relics remained with his family and later resurfaced for a $13 million auction in Hong Kong, prompting government intervention.

• Why it’s news: Highlights the issue of cultural heritage being dispersed and the success of government efforts to reclaim it.

Return and Future Display: The relics were ceremonially welcomed back and will be displayed at their original site in Piprahwa, Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh.

• Why it’s news: Ensures public access to these sacred artifacts at their historical location.

Development Plans for Piprahwa: Uttar Pradesh plans to develop Piprahwa into a major Buddhist tourism hub with a theme park, a new stupa to house the relics, and thematic meditation areas.

• Why it’s news: Signals a commitment to preserving and promoting India’s Buddhist heritage, potentially boosting tourism and economic activity.

Tourism Growth: The site has seen a significant rise in tourist footfall, with official records indicating a doubling of visitors in 2023 and continued growth in 2024.

• Why it’s news: Demonstrates increasing interest in India’s Buddhist circuit and the potential impact of the repatriation and development plans.