1. G-20 Education Ministers agree on equitable use of AI

G-20 members have agreed on the need to work together for a resilient, equitable, inclusive and sustainable future via education; they seek to overcome age, gender, socio-economic challenges

A meeting of the Education Ministers of G-20 countries held in Pune agreed to equitable and inclusive use of Artificial Intelligence in education and skilling that respects human rights.

All G-20 members also agreed to the critical role that education plays as an enabler of human dignity and empowerment globally.

An outcome statement of the meeting said the G-20 members have agreed on the need to work together for a resilient, equitable, inclusive and sustainable future through education.

“All G-20 members agreed on the need to ensure that everyone, irrespective of age, gender, socio-economic or cultural background, or those who are facing physical, mental or other learning difficulties or special needs have access to quality, inclusive and equitable education and training. All G-20 members agreed that education is not only about academic learning, but also about developing life, technical and vocational skills to make all learners future ready. They also underlined the need for lifelong learning,” the statement said.

The meeting recognised the important role of digital transformations, women-led development, green transition and education on sustainable development and lifestyles as accelerators that can advance the progress in sustainable development goals.

Digital divide

“We also reiterated our commitment to overcome the digital divide for all learners by addressing the barriers to technological infrastructure. We agreed on the need to work collectively to develop technology ecosystems and learning resources, including in local languages, that are affordable and easily accessible. We agreed to equitable and inclusive use of Artificial Intelligence in education and skilling that respects human rights,” the statement said.

In a video message to the G-20, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said to make the youth future ready, governments need to continuously skill, re-skill and up-skill them.

Skill mapping

“We need to align their competencies with evolving work profiles and practices. In India, we are undertaking skill mapping. Our Education, Skill and Labour Ministries are working in tandem on this initiative. G-20 countries can undertake skill mapping at the global level, and find gaps that need to be plugged,” Mr. Modi said.

2. Amid search for Titan, lessons for proposed Indian submersible dive

With hope dwindling on the chances of survival of those in the Titan submersible, scientists in India, preparing to undertake a similar dive in an indigenous vehicle late next year, say that multiple back-up safety measures for the crew are already in place, though there may be reviews of the safety systems employed.

The Titan, which previously ferried tourists to the wreck of the Titanic buried 3,800 metres in the North Atlantic, lost contact with its mothership, Polar Prince, on June 17.

The Titan consists of a carbon-fibre sphere with a titanium casing on the front and back. “When we were in the planning stage, there was a proposal to use carbon fibre but we firmly ruled it out and insisted on a titanium enclosure,” said G. Ramadass, Director, National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, which is in the process of designing a submersible, Matsya-6000, that will take three Indians to a depth of 6,000 metres into the Indian Ocean.

Matsya-6000 also has syntactic foam, a flotation device that would rise to the top and help determine the physical location of the submersible, even if it were unable to resurface.

Ahead of the main dives, likely in December 2024 or early 2025, the NIOT divers will undertake several test dives up to 500 metres inside another submersible made of steel. Titanium is stronger than steel but many times lighter — a key criterion that helps the submersible resurface with relative ease from the depths of the open ocean. While the choice of material is made depending on the depth and the cost involved, it’s crucial that the submersible’s hull is perfectly spherical, so that extreme pressure at the ocean depth is evenly balanced. “Even with the slightest imperfection, say even a millimetre off, it will go off like a bomb,” M. Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), told The Hindu.

“This accident will certainly have us review and re-check all the safety measures that we will be incorporating in our mission,” Dr. Ravichandran added.

3. Obama says India may ‘pull apart’ over minority rights

India may “pull apart” if rights of the religious and ethnic minorities are not upheld, former U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday.

In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Mr. Obama expressed concern about rights of vulnerable sections in Indian society, and emphasised that the Biden administration should discuss these issues “honestly” with Prime Minister Modi.

“If the President meets with Prime Minister Modi, then the protection of the Muslim minority in a Hindu majority India is worth mentioning. If I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, who I know well, part of my argument would be that if you don’t protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, there is a strong possibility that India would at some point start pulling apart,” said Mr. Obama who is among the biggest supporters of Mr. Biden in the Democratic Party. Mr. Obama added, “We have seen what happens when you start getting those kinds of large internal conflicts. So that would be contrary to the interests of not only Muslim India but also Hindu India. It is important to be able to talk about these things honestly.”

The remarks were in response to Ms. Amanpour’s question on President Biden’s policy on defence of democracy across the world.

4. GE Aerospace, HAL sign MoU for manufacture of jet engines in India

F414 engines will power LCA-MK2 and the fifth-generation twin-engine Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft-MK1, which is on the drawing board and requires a more powerful engine; F414-powered aircraft are in use with eight nations

Amid the ongoing U.S. visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, engine manufacturer GE Aerospace on Thursday announced signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) to produce fighter jet engines for the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA). The proposal needs authorisation from the U.S. Congress before an agreement can be concluded.

“The agreement includes the potential joint production of GE Aerospace’s F414 engines in India, and GE Aerospace continues to work with the U.S. government to receive the necessary export authorisation for this. The effort is part of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) LCA Mk2 programme,” a statement from GE Aerospace said. “Today’s agreement will advance GE Aerospace’s earlier commitment to build 99 engines for the IAF as part of the LCA Mk2 programme.”

The firm noted that this put the company in a strong position to create a family of products in India, including the F404 engine that currently powers the LCA Mk1 and LCA Mk1A and GE Aerospace’s selection for the “prototype development, testing and certification of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme with our F414-INS6 engine”. In addition, GE will continue to collaborate with the Indian government on the AMCA Mk2 engine programme, it stated.

The LCA MK1 and MK1A, 83 of which are on order, are powered by the F404 engine, while the LCA-MK2 will be a larger and more capable jet and will be powered by the F414 engine.

Terming it a historic agreement, H. Lawrence Culp Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of GE and CEO of GE Aerospace, said, “Our F414 engines are unmatched and will offer important economic and national security benefits for both countries as we help our customers produce the highest quality engines to meet the needs of their military fleet.”

In 1986, GE began working with the Aeronautical Development Agency and HAL with its F404 engines for the LCA programme. “In total, 75 F404 engines have been delivered and another 99 are on order for LCA Mk1A. Eight F414 engines have been delivered as part of an ongoing development program for LCA Mk2,” the firm said.

The MK2 development received sanction from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in August 2022 at a total cost of ₹9,000 crore. DRDO had stated that the prototype is expected to roll out by 2024-25 and the jet will be ready for production by 2027. The fifth generation AMCA is awaiting CCS sanction, the development of which will take 10 years after that, as reported by The Hindu earlier. The project cost of the AMCA is estimated at around ₹15,000 crore.

For AMCA-MK2, India is looking at a more powerful engine which it plans to co-develop with an international partner. With more than five million flight hours and eight nations with F414-powered aircraft, F414 continues to exceed goals for reliability, a statement said.