SIR in 22 States and U.T.S expected from April: EC

The Election Com-mission (EC) has in-formed State poll authorities that the special intensive revision (SIR) of voter lists in the 22 States and Union Territories, where it has not yet been conducted, is expected to begin in April.

A temporary relief from bonded labour

Caste-based bondage

Bondage in many villages survives not through chains, but through caste. For generations, families from barber and washermen communities. have remained trapped in hereditary servitude, paid not in wages but in a few kilograms of rice. The arrangement, unwritten, yet rigidly enforced, passes from one generation to the next.

Privacy, transparency

On Monday, the Supreme Court of India referred a series of petitions challenging the amendment to Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act by Section (3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, to a Constitution Bench, recognising its "constitutional sensitivity". The Chief Justice of India even remarked that the Court might "have to lay down what is meant by 'personal information". The RTI Act, 2005 was enacted to create an informed citizenry and ensure state accountability, which is vital for a democracy.

Tehran reenters the global geopolitical spotlight

In late 2013, the White House in Washington DC- then under President Barack Obama embarked on a multi-national, complicated, and ambitious journey to negotiate with Iran to curtail its nuclear programme. The United States, along with some of its allies, particularly Israel, was at a level convinced that Tehran had set out to develop a nuclear weapons programme. The negotiations, which involved a consortium of United Nations Security Council Members along with Germany, collectively known as the P5+1, managed to reach an agreement in 2015 called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The aim was to install guardrails around the Shia power's nuclear activities, which its then President Hassan Rouhani and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamanei maintained, was only for civil use.

How do graphics processing units work?

What is a GPU?

Very simply speaking, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is an extremely powerful number-cruncher. Less simply: a GPU is a kind of computer processor built to perform many simple calculations at the same time. The more familiar Central Processing Unit (CPU) is on the other hand built to perform a smaller number of complicated tasks quickly and to switch between tasks well.

SC slams unchecked freebies, questions 'appeasement'

The Supreme Court on Thursday chastised State governments for distributing freebies indiscriminately without even distinguishing between the haves and the have-nots, questioning whether they are following an "appeasement" policy without a thought for the public exchequer ahead of elections.

Switzerland's President announces Geneva as host of 2027 Al Impact Summit

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Impact Summit in 2027 will be held in Geneva, Switzerland's President Guy Parmelin said here on Thursday, making a pitch for smaller countries to "come together" to ensure good governance of Al development, so it is not held in the hands of a few "big powers".

'Technology with humanity': Macron pitches for an inclusive Al future

In the face of increasing geopolitical tensions, there is a growing sense of urgency to direct all digital tools to-wards an inclusive approach and India and France will jointly work to build a framework for artificial intelligence (AI) by combining innovation with responsibility and technology with humanity, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.

SC to hear from May 5 over 250 petitions challenging CAA for discrimination

The Supreme Court on Thursday scheduled the final hearing from May 5 in over 250 petitions challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and its Rules, which accelerate the grant of Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Afghanis-tan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

Rare-earth permanent magnet production to commence within this year: Minister

India will commence pro-duction of rare-earth permanent magnet within this year, Union Minister for Mines G. Kishan Reddy said on Thursday. The Union Cabinet had given nod to a scheme for rare-earth permanent magnet manufacturing of about 6,000 metric tonnes per annum, in November last year.