Governance Community

The NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu crossed the 50% threshold after the third round of vote counting in the presidential elections, assuring her victory against the nominee of the opposition, Yashwant Sinha, by a sizable margin. Murmu has received 2,161 of the 3,219 valid votes that have been counted so far, while Sinha received 1,058. Murmu, 64, is the first Adivasi and second woman to become the nation’s First Citizen and the Supreme Commander of India’s Armed Forces.  Murmu served as a Minister in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s BJD-BJP coalition government from 2000 to 2004 and was elected to two terms in the Odisha Assembly in 2000 and 2004. 2015 saw her take the oath of office as Jharkhand’s first female governor. Sinha congratulated Murmu on her victory on Twitter not long after her score passed the halfway point. “I join my fellow citizens in congratulating Smt Droupadi Murmu on her victory in the Presidential Election 2022. India hopes that as the 15th President of the Republic she functions as the Custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour,” he wrote. PM Narendra Modi congratulates Droupadi Murmu on her victory in the Presidential polls. “India scripts history. At a time when 1.3 billion Indians are marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a daughter of India hailing from a tribal community born in a remote part of eastern India has been elected our President! Congratulations to Smt. Droupadi Murmu Ji on this feat,” he wrote after the NDA candidate crossed the halfway mark.  

After the first round of votes in the 2022 presidential elections were counted on Thursday, Droupadi Murmu of the NDA is in the lead. Murmu received 540 of the 748 votes cast by MPs, while Yashwant Sinha of the opposition received 208. Following the start of the vote-counting process at the Parliament House on Thursday morning for the recently held Presidential election, India will soon know who will succeed Ram Nath Kovind as the nation’s 15th President. Droupadi Murmu of the NDA is found to be in the lead in the second round after the votes from the first 10 states were counted (in alphabetical order). Murmu received 809 of the 1,138 total valid votes, while Sinha received 329. These votes have a 1.49 lakh value according to a population and assembly strength formula. Ms. Murmu received slightly over 1.05 lakh of that, and Mr. Sinha received 44,276. By 8 pm, the final result is anticipated. According to the support given by several parties, Droupadi Murmu of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is clearly ahead of Yashwant Sinha of the opposition in this election. If elected, Murmu will hold the nation’s top constitutional position for the first time as a tribal woman. Following her anticipated victory in the election, Droupadi Murmu is set to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several senior members of his Cabinet, and BJP chief J P Nadda on Thursday evening. According to sources, she will also be congratulated by Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, and Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal. Over 98% of the 4,796 eligible voters—including 771 MPs and 4,025 MLAs—participated in the presidential election’s voting process, which was completed on Monday.  

Rajnath Singh, the minister of defence, has issued a warning against the improper use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications and stated that the nation needs to consider the potential risks associated with the new technology. “We cannot stop the development of Artificial Intelligence nor should we make such an effort. But we also need to be careful about it. The bigger the change that any technology brings, the bigger and more serious is its transitional phase,” he said. “Since AI is going to bring a massive change, it may bring legal, ethical, political and economic upheaval situations. We have to be prepared for that too,” he added. At a first-of-its-kind conference on “Artificial Intelligence in Defence” hosted by the Defense Ministry, Singh introduced 75 products for the armed services that are powered by AI. He discussed the subject and stated that whenever a new technology is introduced, it takes time for society to adjust its political, social, and ethical standards. “Artificial Intelligence should not be misused in any case. There is a need to work on AI with great care so that in the coming time, it does not get out of our own hands somewhere else,” he added. However, the Minister stated to be a big optimist who likewise has an optimistic outlook on the development of AI. He claimed that numerous initiatives were being made to advance AI in defence. He stated that new autonomous weapons and technologies have been developed so that we can hit their target and destroy the enemy’s establishments even without human control, when speaking about advanced artificial intelligence-driven applications in defence. He asserted that AI-enabled gadgets could manage vast amounts of data and were useful for improving soldier training.

In conjunction with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-M), Madras, an indigenous 5G testbed will be established at the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE), Mhow. At a gathering in Chennai on Monday, MCTE and IIT-M inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate the process. The testbed will make it easier for the Indian Army to employ 5G technology in its operations, particularly along its borders. The MoU will help to accelerate the introduction of niche technology systems, devices, and equipment, as well as the application of AI-based algorithms to improve the Armed Forces’ capabilities. It will also encourage collaboration and cooperative research as well as the exchange of ideas for new technology development. It will encourage students, faculty members, and scientists to conduct research in the field of 5G communications and military application development. The collaboration between MCTE and IIT-Madras intends to help the Indian Army achieve ‘Atmanirbharta’ in the field of communications by providing a testing facility for the tri-services and therefore acting as a catalyst for research and development. IIT Madras will provide consultation, backed up by research, for feasibility studies and prototype development on 5G enabled future communications under the terms of the MoU.

The National Data Governance Framework Policy (NDGFP), which is currently undergoing public consultation, will provide equitable access to non-personal data, according to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). According to the ministry, the draft policy focuses on enhancing the institutional framework for government data sharing, supporting privacy and security by design principles, and encouraging the use of anonymization tools. MeitY released the draught policy on May 26 and is seeking feedback till June 18. Over 250 stakeholders from industry, start-ups, academia, think tanks, international alliances, and government officials participated in a recent policy discussion. The proposal includes plans to establish the India Data Management Office (IDMO) within the Digital India Corporation, which will be responsible for drafting, managing, and modifying the policy on a regular basis. Interactions between industry players and government authorities sought clarification on the IDMO’s functioning. They requested provisions such as access to annotated datasets for AI innovation and data capacity building engagement with the private sector and social impact firms. The ministry stated that data governance will be approached from a “whole-of-government” perspective. It went on to say that in developing and implementing the policy, it will use a collaborative and participatory approach. NDGFP intends to standardise the government’s data gathering and management while catalsizing AI and data-driven research and a startup environment, according to Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State (MoS) Electronics and IT.

The first “type certificate” (TC) under the Drone Rules, 2021 was given to Gurugram-based IoTechWorld Aviation, which was founded in April 2017 and is one of India’s major manufacturers, on Tuesday. On May 11, 2022, IoTech received the TC 34 days after submitting their online application on the DGCA’s DigitalSky Platform. “This is despite the fact that the Drone Rules, 2021, allow 60 days to Quality Council of India (QCI) or the Certification Bodies (CB) and 15 days to DGCA for issuing the Type Certificate (i.e 75 days in total), provided all the necessary documents and test reports are as per specifications,” the aviation ministry said in a statement. Scindia stated that his administration is pursuing the goal of “minimum government, maximum governance.” India has set a goal of becoming a drone hub by 2030, and is taking steps in that direction with the issuing of a type certificate in a record-breaking 34 days. He noted that certification for the other drone prototypes would be granted soon. The “certification scheme for unmanned aircraft systems” (CSUAS) for acquiring TC for drones was notified last August, while the “drone rules, 2021” were notified this January. “QCI has approved three globally known Certification Bodies (CBs): TQ Cert, UL India, and Bureau Veritas. According to the ministry statement, “drone manufacturers are free to approach any Certification Body for testing their drone prototype.” The Quality Council of India created the drone certification process in January 2022 after consulting with drone startups, industry, academia, and defence professionals. “An eco-system for world-class drones to be made in India and sold all over the world is anticipated to emerge as a result of the drone certification process.” There are currently 14 drone prototypes undergoing certification test. Over the following three years, the number of Type Certified prototypes could approach 100, according to the statement.