What to Read in The Hindu Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

Editorial 1: Forging leadership with India’s youth power

Context

The Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue is designed to inspire the youth to think critically.

 

Introduction

Every year, January 12 is celebrated across the length and breadth of India as ‘National Youth Festival’, a day which is also the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. The Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue is an innovative one, launched with the vision of engaging India’s youth in the developmental journey of the nation. The programme seeks to harness the collective energy, creativity and leadership potential of young minds to contribute towards realising a Viksit Bharat, i.e., a Developed India.

• In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s belief that the youth of the country are central to India’s growth, the dialogue provides a platform for young leaders to engage in discussions, exchange ideas, and collaborate on solutions to the nation’s challenges.
• The competition and its stages are designed to inspire the youthto think critically and contribute in a proactive way towards India’s progress.

 

A dialogue, its competitive nature

• Purpose: The dialogue is a dynamic, multi-stage initiative, designed to engageand empower India’s youth in the country’s developmental journey.
• Competition stages: The competition has four stages.
• Stage 1: Viksit Bharat Quiz
  • Held digitally on the My Bharat platform.
  • This stage tested a participant’s knowledge about India’s achievements, challenges, and vision for a developed future, covering areas such as sustainable development, technology, and national policies.
  • The top scorersmoved on to the second stage.
• Stage 2: Essay and Blog Writing
  • Participants had to write on themes such as tech for Viksit Bharatand empowering youth for Viksit Bharat, reflecting on their vision for India’s future.
  • These submissions were evaluated for originality.
• Stage 3: Viksit Bharat Vision Pitch Deck
  • Participants at the State levelpresented innovative ideas for India’s development through a compelling pitch deck.
  • The best teamsfrom each State advanced to the fourth and last stage of the Viksit Bharat National Championship.
• Stage 4: Viksit Bharat National Championship
  • Held at the Bharat Mandapamin New Delhi on January 11-12, 2025.
  • In the finale, the selected teams will pitch their visionary solutions to the Prime Minister.
  • This in itself is a unique opportunity to influence national policyand contribute to India’s vision of a Viksit Bharat.
• Skills tested: The competition is structured to test not only a participant’s knowledgeand creativity but also their leadership and communication skills.

 

The features this year

• Purpose of the National Youth Festival: The National Youth Festival is an annual celebration of India’s youth, fostering a spirit of national integrationand promoting the ideals of youth empowerment and creativity.
• Focus for 2025: Youth for Sustainable Development: The theme this year is Youth for Sustainable Development.
  • Focuses on the growing recognition of young people as the drivers of global change.
  • Aligned with India’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • Incorporates workshops, seminars, and cultural activitiespromoting a greener, more inclusive future.
• Emphasis on technology and innovation: There is a greater focus on technologyand innovation in achieving national goals.
  • Specific sessions dedicated to Tech for Goodand Innovation for India’s Development.
• Expanded virtual participation: This year features expanded virtual participation.
  • Digital platforms allow young people from remote areas to join discussions, workshops, and showcase their talents and ideas online.
  • Ensures inclusivityand broadens the festival’s reach.
• Key Features of the 2025 National Youth Festival
  • Workshops and Panels on Leadership and Innovation: Focus on youth leadership, digital entrepreneurship, and sustainable living.
    • Equip participants with the skills needed to drive changein their communities.
  • Cultural programmes: Celebration of India’s rich cultural heritagethrough music, dance, theatre, and folk art performances.
    • Provides youth with opportunities to express themselves creatively.
  • Tech and innovation showcases: Themed Tech for Viksit Bharat.
    • Exhibitions and presentations from young tech innovatorsand entrepreneurs addressing real-world problems in sectors such as health, education, agriculture, and urban development.
  • Engagement with leaders: Direct engagement between youth and key leadersfrom government, business, and academia.
    • Provides insights into leadership, governance, and the path to national progress.
  • Recognition of youth contributions: Awardsand recognitions for young individuals and organisations demonstrating exceptional leadership, innovation, and service.
    • Motivates others to take active roles in shaping India’s future.

 

The role of MY Bharat

Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat): Empowering Youth for National Development

• Role of Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat): MY Bharat is an autonomous bodyunder the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
  • Plays an instrumental rolein shaping and guiding the direction of the National Youth Festival.
  • Empowers youthby promoting engagement, knowledge sharing, and participation in nation-building activities.
• Contribution to the National Youth Festival: MY Bharat is crucial in curating the festival’s programmesand ensuring they align with the aspirations of India’s youth.
• Opportunities through MY Bharat: Provides access to resources, mentorship, and opportunitiesthat enhance the ability of youth to contribute meaningfully to India’s development.
• Digital Integration of Youth: MY Bharat will facilitate digital integrationof youth, enabling participation from across the country.
  • Supports the inclusivityof youth engagement, ensuring wider access to festival activities.
• Support for Youth-led Initiatives: Actively supports youth-led initiatives, helping them navigate the complexities of socialand technological challenges.
  • Encourages youth to find innovative solutionsfor a better India.

 

Conclusion

In totality, India’s youth is indeed its most precious asset. As the country progresses towards its vision of becoming a Viksit Bharat, it is the boundless energy, the ideas and the ambition of young people that will power the nation’s transformation. The initiative of the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue will not only open a new chapter but will also shape the mobilisation of the political leadership. The future of India is bright, and it rests in the able hands of its youth. This resonates with the belief expressed by Swami Vivekananda in unlimited possibilities in youth energy when he had said, ‘Give me one hundred ‘believing’ young men… I will transform India as the number one nation in the entire world….’

 

Editorial 2: India’s journey so far on the AI military bandwagon

Context

India has begun harnessing AI’s potential to strengthen its defence ecosystem, but there are still significant impediments.

 

Introduction

As the world has begun utilising and developing artificial intelligence (AI) for military purposes amidst debates of ethical concerns, India also appears to have hopped on the bandwagon. Last year saw a defence Budget of ₹6.21 lakh crore ($75 billion), with an emphasis on modernising and upgrading India’s military. India has begun to make strides towards integrating AI systems with their military and using them across various systems. Products such as the Indrajaal autonomous drone security system have been developed. India has also attracted investments from numerous foreign tech giants for its AI ecosystem — Microsoft, for example, has committed approximately $3 billion to building data centres in Telangana.

 

On track but there are hurdles

• AI’s Potential for military operations: Multiple government figureshave made statements about the utility of AI for military purposes, including Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who remarked that “artificial intelligence or AI has the potential to revolutionise military operations, from predictive analytics to autonomous decision-making systems.”
• India’s international initiatives in AI: Additionally, India is a part of multiple joint initiativesinternationally that focus on AI.
  • All these steps indicate the pouring of moneyand manpower into developing AI systems for military purposes.
  • India is on track to fully utilising the potential of AI.
• Challenges and obstacles to AI adoption: A lack of digitised datato train systems on as well as a dearth of funds are the obvious factors.
  • The biggest issue is the fact that the data centresrequired to run AI systems are expensive.
  • India’s military already has to focus on replacing legacy systemssuch as older aircraft with newer models, which is an expensive endeavour in itself.
  • India’s legacy hardwareis no longer competitive in the global sphere, and significant resources are being directed towards replacing and upgrading it.
• Policy and regulatory challenges: More general hurdles, which are harder to overcome, exacerbate the problem.
  • One such issue is that India’s policies on AIare still fragmented or lack guidelines for implementation.
  • For instance, the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligenceoutlines India’s vision for deploying AI. However, it provides little insight on actual mechanisms for deployment.
  • Similarly, the Responsible AI for Allpaper outlines the importance of accountability and transparency and puts forward principles for responsible AI use, but falls short in making military-AI-specific recommendations.
  • Major strides have been made through these documents, but, as of now, arguably more robust frameworks need to be put in place for the deploymentand the regulation of AI in the military.
• Efforts to Bridge Gaps: DAIC and DAIPA: The Defence Artificial Intelligence Council (DAIC)and the Defence AI Project Agency (DAIPA) have been set up, and their objectives will bridge these gaps.
  • However, there have not been any recent updatesavailable to the public from these bodies.

 

The international picture

• Global Focus on AI Integration: AIis also a technology that is a must based on the alacrity with which other countries have been focusing on integrating it with their militaries.
  • Israeland China have focused on rapidly developing and deploying military AI and their technologies are already far ahead.
• India’s Need for clarity of vision: India needs clarity of visionin its attitude towards AI, to make it possible to roll out AI systems faster and catch up with the global AI wave.
• Inconsistencies githin the Government: There appears to be some degree of inconsistencywithin the government regarding sentiments towards military AI.
  • This is reflected in remarks made by notable figures that underscore resistanceor mistrust regarding the new technology.
• Concerns regarding AI’s Dangers: For example, the Minister of External Affairscompared AI to nuclear weapons — “AI will be as dangerous for the world as nuclear bombs once were” — in terms of their potential dangers to the world.
• Prime Minister’s Remarks on AI: During the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI)in 2023, the Prime Minister also remarked that there must be a focus proceeding with extreme caution and warned of the darker sides of AI.
• Clarity on AI’s importance, but not on deployment: While there is clarity on the fact that AI will be criticalin the coming years, especially military AI, there appears to be less clarity on how to roll it out.

 

The specific problems in India

• Historically siloed nature of the armed forces: One of the biggest challenges that must be addressed, even when India is at the stage where technologies are ready to be widely deployed, is the historically siloed nature of the armed forces.
  • The Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Forcehave separate doctrines, systems, and communication practices.
  • This will likely significantly hinder interoperabilityand the procurement of systems for joint operations.
• Procurement challenges for AI systems: When it comes to the procurement of systems themselves, one of the issues with developing AIfor defence is the reliance on public sector units (PSU), which has prevailed in India for many decades.
  • Despite the misconception that most of India’s defence manufacturersare public sector companies, many private entities and startups produce advanced, high-quality systems.
• Need for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): To equip the military with the best systemsat a large enough scale, there will have to be public-private partnerships (PPPs) or an introduction of private competition.
  • As seen with the space sector, this can significantly change the state of affairs.

 

Conclusion

India has already begun harnessing AI’s potential to bolster its defence ecosystem. However, these multiple impediments serve as a reminder of the measures that need to be taken. Strategic alignment is paramount, and robust frameworks and policies are necessary to ensure AI’s effective and ethical deployment. India needs to make systemic changes to tackle issues such as the inter-service silos and an overreliance on PSUs. Finally, collaboration and innovation internationally and in terms of PPPs will accelerate AI adoption and innovation. With a cohesive strategy, India will be able to maximise the utility of AI.