Governance Community

Employers reported over 35.7 lakh vacancies on the National Career Service (NCS) portal during 2022–23, which is a significant increase from the 13 lakh vacancies reported during 2021–22. The reporting of vacancies on NCS in 2022–2023 showed a 175% rise from 2021–2022 in comparison. Also, as of October 30, 2022, the number of active openings in 2022–23 was at its highest, at more than 5.3 lakh. Throughout all industries, there has been an upsurge in job postings on NCS. With 20.8 lakh vacancies in 2022–23 compared to 2.2 lakh vacancies in 2021–22, the finance and insurance sector has experienced extraordinary growth of more than 800%. With 3.75 lakh open positions reported in 2022–23, up from 76,000 in 2021–22, the sector of operations and support has also seen a 400% increase in job openings. The number of openings in industries like manufacturing, health, education, and hospitality increased significantly between 2022 and 2023 compared with the previous year. The NCS portal registered more than one million employers since its introduction in 2022–2023, which was another milestone. Around eight lakh employers out of the total number of registered employers were registered in 2022–2023. Employers from the service industry registered the most (6.5 lakh), followed by those from the manufacturing sector.

The Union government has started a blockchain technology system research project with the goal of improving the blockchain technology stack for the development of end-to-end blockchain applications. According to official sources, the project titled “Design and Development of a Unified Blockchain Framework for Offering National Blockchain Service and Creation of Blockchain Ecosystem” will also enable Open Application Programming Interfaces (Open APIs) for Seamless Integration and Offering Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) across Distributed Infrastructure. The National Strategy on Blockchain was formulated in 2021, according to official sources, despite the fact that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) hasn’t undertaken any formal research on the technological and economic opportunities that Web3 provides. The government’s endeavour includes the research project. According to sources, Web3 is made possible by blockchain, and the National Strategy on Blockchain includes key technological elements needed for Web3. In Web3, blockchain technology plays a significant role.

According to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, the central government and state governments are collaborating to create a “good transparent digital tech-enabled system of good governance so that Karnataka also gets benefited.” At an address to the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) in Bengaluru, Goyal said, “We commit ourselves to provide a double-engine government in Karnataka that will work hand-in-hand with Central government, converting all those MoUs in global investor meets into action on the ground and bringing a good transparent digital tech-enabled system of good governance so that Karnataka also gets benefitted.” “Today, India is the most sought-after country under PM @NarendraModi ji’s leadership. At the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry, reiterated how the double-engine Govt will ensure growth & development in the state,” Piyush Goyal tweeted. Today, India is the most sought after country under PM @NarendraModi ji’s leadership. At the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry, reiterated how the double-engine Govt will ensure growth & development in the state. pic.twitter.com/KSlX4ZXUqG — Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) April 7, 2023 The minister said, “A good and strong single-party government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will help transform and speed up the developmental process in Karnataka. Let us work together to make making India a global power.” Goyal also lauded Prime Minister Modi and stated that the Union government had strengthened India’s economy. According to Goyal, “the government had seen record foreign direct investment (FDI), low inflation, and export growth in the last nine years.” He said, “Investors are coming to India for R&D (research and development), and manufacturing and to enjoy the benefits of India’s talent pool.” Under PM Narendra Modi’s leadership, India, according to Goyal, was the most sought-after country for investments.

To provide homes with piped drinking water through the Jal Jeevan Project, the Center has granted the state for Rs 2,000 crore. For approving Rs 2,000 crore to implement the piped water scheme, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. In the northeastern state, 56% of homes already have access to piped water, and the state has a plan in place to provide water to every home. “I am glad to share that the Union ministry of Jal Shakti has approved Rs 2,000 crore for Tripura under Jal Jeevan Mission 2023-24 and the fund is more than the total of Rs 1,930 crore Tripura received in the last 3 years,” the CM said.

The startup industry body ADIF stated that the NLCAT ruling upholding Google’s penalty for abusing its dominant position by bundling the Android OS and Play Store with its apps is both real and detrimental to the Indian startup ecosystem. With certain changes, the NCLAT (National Company Law Appellate Tribunal) has upheld the fair-trade regulator CCI’s orders that penalised tech giant Google with a fine of Rs. 1,337.76 crore in the Android mobile devices case. Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) said in a statement that “ADIF welcomes NCLAT order, as it cements the fact that the abusive dominance by Google due to its bundling of Android OS and Play Store with its own apps is real and regressive for Indian startup ecosystem.” According to the startup body, the requirement to pre-install Gmail, Chrome, Search, Maps, and Youtube creates entry barriers, pricing asymmetry, and limits innovation in these segments. Additionally, Google’s agreements with OEMs are anti-competitive in nature and limit market advancements in technology and science, according to ADIF. According to the startup body, “Google lagaan,” which will require app developers to pay up to a 26 percent commission starting on April 26, 2023, is another significant barrier to the growth of Indian startups because it will reduce their ability to sustain themselves by taking a third of their revenue.

An earth science satellite called NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) was jointly created by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The satellite’s mission includes designing, developing, and launching a dual-frequency (L and S band) radar imaging satellite as well as exploring newer application areas for L & S band microwave data, particularly in surface deformation studies, terrestrial biomass structure, mapping and monitoring of natural resources, and studies pertaining to the dynamics of ice-sheets, glaciers, forests, and oil slicks, among other things. This information was provided in a written reply to a question asked in the Rajya Sabha earlier this week by Union Minister of State for Science & Technology, Space, and Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh. An Earth observation satellite equipped with a dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar will be launched as part of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission, a joint project between NASA and ISRO. According to the minister, the instrument designated for SAR is based on the cutting-edge Sweep SAR technique and is configured in both the L and S bands in polarimetric mode for wide swath and high resolution. With an inclination of 98.4 degrees and a 747 km sun-synchronous orbit around the Earth, the spacecraft will repeat its orbit every 12 days. According to Dr. Singh, ISRO provides the S-band SAR payload, spacecraft bus, and launch services, whilst NASA provides the L-Band SAR payload, high precision GPS, and 12 m unfurlable antenna. He stated that, as of February 2023, ISRO has spent a total of Rs 469.40 crore, excluding launch costs, on the creation of the NISAR satellite. Using two different radar frequencies (L-band and S-band), NISAR will be the first radar of its sort in orbit to systematically map Earth. It will measure changes to the planet’s surface, including movements as small as centimetres. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a method for creating high-resolution images from a radar system that has limited resolution. The satellite will be used for remote sensing, which enables observation and understanding of Earth’s natural processes. The Antarctic cryosphere will be studied by its left-facing instruments. NISAR is set to be the most expensive Earth-imaging satellite in the world, with a total cost estimated at US$ 1.5 billion.

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), which is part of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has been requested by the Union Health Ministry to investigate a reported attempt to hack into its website, allegedly by a Russian hacker group. According to CloudSEK’s cyber security experts, the Russian hacker group “Phoenix” targeted the website and was able to gain access to the ministry’s Health Management Information System portal, which contains information on all the hospitals in India as well as their staff members and doctors. “We have sought details and asked the CERT-In to look into the alleged hacking of the health ministry’s website. They will submit a report,” an official source told PTI. CERT-In provides prevention and response services to governmental bodies and private organisations. It is the nation’s nodal agency for handling computer security issues. The group stated that the attack is “a consequence of India’s agreement over the oil price cap and sanctions of G20 over the Russia-Ukraine war,” according to a report by CloudSEK. The G7-approved price cap on Russian oil was the driving force behind this target, according to CloudSEK, which also explained that Indian authorities decided not to violate the sanctions against the Russian Federation. This decision led to numerous polls on Russian hacktivist Phoenix’s Telegram channel asking the followers for their votes, according to the statement. Phoenix, according to CloudSEK, has been operating since January 2022, is well-known for its phishing attacks, and has previously targeted hospitals in Japan and the UK, a US-based healthcare provider for the US military, and the website of the Spanish Foreign Ministry, among others.

The Union government will bring a new bill into the lower house of parliament on Wednesday that will upgrade the authority of the officer-in-command or commander-in-chief of inter-services organisations. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will introduce the Inter-Services Organizations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha, according to official sources. The bill aims to uphold order and “ensure proper discharge of duties among the personnel attached under them,” according to a government note. In addition, the second batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2022–23, which includes spending for the rest of the current fiscal year, is anticipated to be discussed and voted on by the Lok Sabha. The budget for Jammu and Kashmir for 2023–2024 will also be discussed in the lower house of Parliament. The house will debate and vote on the requests for funds for J&K for 2023–2024. Also, the Parliament will consider and vote on the supplementary demands for funds for J&K for 2022–2023.

Hollywood has produced a number of films with cyborgs and robots that are trained to wage war, destroy, and kill. On Indian beaches, though, we might soon see robots with cutting-edge Intelligence that are intended to save lives. Goa is the first state in India to add a self-driving robot driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and a monitoring system to its world-class beaches to improve lifesaving skills. The monitoring system and the self-driving robot in Goa both have personalities in that they have names; the former is called Triton and the latter Aurus. The Goa government decided to use AI-powered systems after there were more beach-related accidents as a result of an increase in domestic and foreign visitors to the area. According to a recent study, Goa experiences 200 drowning deaths annually that are related to swimming. The popular beaches like Baga, Calangute, Arambol, Sinquerim, and Morjim are where the majority of fatalities are reported. The introduction of the AI systems is being driven by Drishti Marine, a state-appointed lifeguard organisation. On Goa’s extensive coastline, Aurus, the AI-powered self-driving robot, supports lifeguards by monitoring the no-swimming zones and alerting visitors during high tide. The main duty of the Triton monitoring system is to employ AI to keep an eye on the non-swimming zones, warn visitors of risk, and alert the closest lifeguard to the presence of visitors in a hazardous area. Presently, Triton is deployed at Baina, Velaso, Benaulim, Galgibag in South Goa, and Morjim in North Goa, while Aurus is stationed at Miramar Beach in North Goa. According to official sources, the Government of Goa intends to deploy 100 Triton and 10 Aurus units on the state’s beaches by the end of this year. It’s not the first time that robots have been used to save lives on Indian beaches. To protect swimmers’ lives, a robotic Lifebuoy was deployed on the beaches of Visakhapatnam in 2022. Hari Venkata Kumari, Mayor of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, claims that the robotic Lifebuoy can travel up to 600 metres underwater and move six metres per second. It has the capacity to save three lives at once. Robots are frequently used to clean beaches around the world, but using AI-powered systems to save lives is a more recent development.

In the past, India’s power supply systems have been targeted by RedEcho, a cyberhacker group with links to China. According to a NYT report, groups associated with China are to held responsible for the Mumbai outage that occurred in October 2021. Power grids and other power installations have frequently been targeted by hackers on a global scale. In the past ten years, hackers have targeted California’s power grid a number of times. The Indian government is developing a cutting-edge, smart transmission system that is resilient to cyberattacks and natural disasters because it is aware of the harm that hackers and natural disasters can do to power supply installations. Also, the technology will enable a larger integration of renewable energy. The new transmission system will make use of AI and machine learning, and it will be built with the aid of robots and drones. It’s anticipated that using robots and drones will reduce human intervention and safety hazards. Also, it will speed up the building and maintenance process and ensure greater accuracy. “A modern transmission grid is necessary to achieve the government’s vision of 24X7 reliable and affordable power, and meet the sustainability goals,” says RK Singh, the Union Minister for Power and NRE. The Power Ministry’s task force, led by CMD of Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, produced a report that served as the foundation for the decision to build a new transmission system. The taskforce was asked to make recommendations on how to modernise, smarten up, and prepare the transmission sector for the future. The task force included members from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), state transmission utilities, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), central transmission utilities, IIT Kanpur, NSGPMU, and EPTA. In order to deploy selected technology solutions and establish benchmark performance levels, CEA will develop the appropriate standards and regulations. The taskforce’s report was approved by the government last week following discussions presided over by RK Singh, the Union Power and NRE Minister. “A fully automated, digitally controlled, fast responsive grid which is resilient to cyber-attacks and natural disasters is the need of the hour,” Singh said during the meeting.