Context: On December 21, the Election Commission of India released an advisory for political parties to follow disability-sensitive terminologies.

About the guidelines:

• The advisory comprises 11 guidelines falling into three main categories: disability-inclusive communication, accessibility of information, and inclusion within party frameworks.
• Communication guidelines emphasize avoiding ill-health terminologies for persons with disabilities (PwD) and refraining from dehumanizing language or perpetuating stereotypes.
• Accessibility guidelines focus on ensuring information on political party websites is accessible and holding events at places that are easily reachable.
• The third category involves developing training modules on disability for party workers and striving to include PwDs at all levels of a political party.

Need of such guidelines:

• Recent instances have underlined the need for these guidelines. For example, in September 2023, Tamil Nadu leader A Raja compared Sanatan Dharma to people with leprosy and HIV in a derogatory manner.
• National leaders have also used disability in a demeaning manner, especially during election speeches. Such instances dehumanise PwDs and perpetuate stereotypes, resulting in an “attitudinal barrier” under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
• Political inclusion is an ignored aspect within the Indian realm of disability.

The recently released Election Commission of India guidelines for political parties on disability sensitivity are viewed as a positive step, but there are identified areas for improvement:

• The guidelines are advisory, with varying levels of mandatory language across different sections, leading to a lack of uniformity in enforcement.
• Not being part of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) raises concerns about the effectiveness of these guidelines. Breach consequences are specified only for disability-inclusive communication, leaving uncertainty for other guidelines.
• Ambiguities in phraseology, such as labeling terms like "blind," "deaf," and "dumb" as wrong, require clarification. A comprehensive list of disability-sensitive words from the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy can enhance clarity.
• The absence of a chapter on political inclusion in the draft National Policy for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) and the need for accessibility norms in political parties indicate a potential gap.
• The absence of data on legislators with disabilities is highlighted, emphasizing the need for incorporating a disability column in nomination forms to address this informational gap.

• To catalyze political inclusion, a dedicated chapter on political inclusion should be added to the national policy, aligning with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The upcoming 2024 elections present an opportunity for the Election Commission of India to rectify these issues, marking a significant step toward the political inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PwD).

Voice clone fraud has been on the rise in India.

AI voice cloning – It is the process of creating a synthetic replica of a person’s voice through machine learning and speech synthesis technology.It is called as voice deepfakesor audio deepfakes.

Objective – To achieve a high level of naturalness that sounds exactly like a person’s voice.

Usage of Voice Deepfakes

• Voice assistants – Creation of personalized voice assistants, chatbots, video game characters, animated film avatars, custom call centre voices, and much more.
• Language translations – Meta’s SeamlessM4T, can understand nearly 100 languages from speech or text and generate translations in real-time.
• Protecting original voices – Apple introduced a voice cloning feature to help people who may be in danger of losing their voice say to a degenerative disease.
• Creating new songs – YouTube’s Dream Track partners with creators in the U.S. to allow them to create song clips featuring AI vocals with permission from pop stars.
• AI Voice Scams – Easy access to AI voice clones also spawned disinformation.
• Rallying for votes in Election – A Pakistan based political party used an AI-generated speech from the now imprisoned leader in an attempt to rally for votes virtually.
• Generating hate speech – Harry Potter actress Emma Watson voice reading out a portion of the Mein Kampf.

How are voice clones done?

• It is a complex process that involves audio data, an algorithm to train on the data, and finally fine-tuning your cloned AI voice.
• Requirement – AI model will require audio data for the machine learning process to trigger.
• Ways to share audio data – Uploading an audio file or recording voice samples in the app.

• The recorded or uploaded audio data is then analyzed by our model to extract various acoustic features, such as pitch, tone, and rhythm.
• Speech synthesis – The analysed audio is used to train a speech synthesis model, such as a neural network.
• The model is trained on this data to pick up on the nuances and acoustic features of the user’s voice.
• Speech perfection – Once the voice is cloned, the user has the option to continue refining the AI voice with various voice augmenting variables such as prosody, phoneme, and emotions.

A report by Market US has revealed that the global market for these applications stands at $1.2 billion in 2022 and is estimated to touch almost $5 billion in 2032 with a CAGR above 15-40%.

What is the scenario of AI voice clone scams in India?

• ‘The Artificial Imposter’ Report– India topped the list with the maximum number of victims.
  • 47% of surveyed Indians have either been a victim or knew someone who had fallen prey to the scam.
  • Scam in India is almost twice the global average of 25%.
• McAfee Report – 66% of Indian participants admitted that they would respond to a voice call or a phone call that appeared to be from a friend or family member in urgent need of money.
  • The most effective excuses used by the sender were that they had been robbed (70%) and involved in a car accident (69%).
  • 86% Indians were prone to sharing their voice data online or via voice notes at least once a week.

What can be done?

• Starting voice cloning challenges – Public can be asked to send in their ideas to detect, evaluate and monitor cloned devices.
• Adopting impersonation rules – It will help deter deceptive voice cloning
• Quickening regulators response – The control measures be taken at the pace at which generative AI releases are moving.
• Digitally signed videos - To verify that content can be trusted.
• AI voice clone detectors – Advancing their development and promoting its active usage.
• Cracking down social media platforms to control the spread.
• 4 dangerous signs to watch out for
  • Unexpected calls
  • Urgent requests
  • Unnatural speech patterns
  • Requests for money or personal information

The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA) registration of two prominent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) — Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and World Vision India (WVI) have been cancelled this month.

What is FCRA?

What is the procedure for FCRA registration?

• Apply online- NGOs must apply online for FCRA registration with the required documents and information.
• Role of Intelligence Bureau (IB)- Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) verifies the background and objectives of the applicant through the Intelligence Bureau.
• Eligibility- The applicant must not be involved in any illegal or anti-national activities, such as religious conversion, communal violence, fund misuse, or sedition.
• Time frame-The MHA must decide on the application within 90 days, or inform the NGO of the reasons for delay.
• Validity- 5 years.
• Renewal- It must be applied for at least 6 months before the expiry date, in case of failure to renew it will amount to expiry of registration.
• Due date- NGOs can appeal to the MHA within 4 months of the expiry of registration, by giving valid reasons for the delay.

How FCRA registration can be cancelled?

The Government reserves the right to cancel the FCRA registration of any NGO if it finds it to be in violation of the Act.

• Right to cancel- The Government can cancel the FCRA registration of any NGOs if it finds to be in violation of the Act.
• Grounds for cancellation- It can happen if the NGO is found to be dishonest, inactive, defunct or harmful to public interest, or if it misuses foreign funds.
• Right to be heard- As per the act, no order of cancellation of certificate can be made unless the person or NGO concerned has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
• Right to Appeal- All orders of the Government can be challenged in the High Court.
• Re-registration- If NGOs registration is cancelled, it can apply for re-registration only after 3 years.
• Suspend NGOs activities- MHA can suspend or freeze the NGO’s registration and funds for 180 days during inquiry.

Since 2015, the FCRA registration of more than 16,000 NGOs have been cancelled on account of violation.

Centre for Policy Research

• It is a non-profit, non-partisan, independent institution founded in 1973.
• It was dedicated to conducting research that contributes to high-quality scholarship, better policies, and a more robust public discourse about the issues that impact life in India.
• It is a member of the Indian Council of Social Science Research and is recognised by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
• Its funders have included the Government of India, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Ford Foundation, among many others in India and abroad.

World Vision India (WVI)

• It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that focuses on children’s issues.
• The U.S.-based organisation is one of the world’s largest voluntary groups, with a presence in over 100 countries.
• It has been operational in India for the past 70 years.

Recently, Prime Minister announced Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana under which 1 crore households will get rooftop solar power systems.

What is Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana?

• Aim- To equip 1 crore poor to middle-class households with rooftop solar panels in a bit to provide electricity from solar energy.

Significance of the Scheme

• Cost effective- It will reduce the electricity bill for poor and middle class.
• In a solar rooftop system, there is only an upfront capital investment and minimal cost for maintenance.
• Aatmanirbar Bharat- It will push India’s goal of becoming self-reliant in the energy sector.
• Additional income- It will provide income to generate surplus electricity generation.
• Massive national campaign- It will mobilize residential segment consumers to adopt rooftop solar in large numbers.
• Reaching the targets- It could help India achieve net zerotarget by 2070.
• India aims to reach 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, hence expanding solar energy is crucial to achieve this target.
• It seems to be a new attempt to help reach the target of 40 GW rooftop solar capacity.
• Saves electricity cost - It reduces the consumption of the grid-connected electricity and saves electricity cost for the consumer.

As per the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) report, the residential sector currently accounts for just 20% of the installations of rooftop solar capacity.

What is the Rooftop Solar Program?

• Launch year- 2014
• About- To promote the installation of solar panels on the roofs of residential, community, institutional, industrial and commercial buildings.
• Aim- To achieve a cumulative capacity of 40 GW of rooftop solar by 2022.
• Implementation- By Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in collaboration with the State Government and distribution companies (DISCOMs)
• Scheme extension- 2022 to 2026
• Central financial assistance- Given to eligible projects and DISCOMs that facilitate the installation and operation of rooftop solar systems.

At the end of 2023, the total solar installed capacity in the country had reached only 73.3 GW, of which grid-connected rooftop solar contributed just about 11 GW.

What steps were taken to promote solar energy?

• Solar park scheme- Aims to facilitate the setting up of large-scale solar power projects in solar parks, which are zones of land with suitable infrastructure and access to the grid.
• National Solar Mission- One of the 8 key National Mission’s which comprise India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
• Viability Gap Funding scheme (VGF)- One-time grant implemented through Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
• Central Public Sector Undertaking Scheme (CPSU) - Aims to achieve 12 GW of solar power capacity from CPSUs by 2023.
• Defence Scheme- Aims to promote the installation of solar power plants by the defence sector and the para-military forces.
• Canal bank and Canal top Scheme- Aims to promote the installation of solar power plants on the banks and tops of the canals.
• Bundling scheme- Aims to promote the installation of solar power plants by bundling the solar power with the thermal power from the unallocated quota of the central generating stations (CGS).
• PM KUSUM scheme- Aimed at ensuring energy security for farmers in India, along with honouring India’s commitment to increase the share of installed capacity of electric power from non-fossil-fuel sources to 40% by 2030 as part of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).
• Production Linked Incentive (PLI) - Scheme for high efficiency solar aims to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities and exports in the solar sector.
• Green Energy Corridors- Established to create intra-state transmission system for renewable energy projects.
• International Solar Alliance- A joint effort by India and France to mobilize efforts against climate change through deployment of solar energy solutions with an aim of One Sun, One World, One Grid.

• The Mukhyamantri Gramin Solar Street Light Yojana is a scheme that aims to provide street lights in villages and cities in Bihar.

The scheme is expected to be completed by March 2023 but not implemented in some areas till now.

• The international team of researchers collected samples of corals from across the Mediterranean Sea and analysed the bacteria that live with the corals.
• The researchers found that the presence of a group of parasitic single-celled organisms called Syndiniales made it more likely that a coral could survive heat stress.

The presence of Corallicolids, a group of single-celled organism related to the parasite that causes malaria, was more common in corals that die from heat stress.

• India overtakes Hong Kong to become 4^th-largest stock market recently.
• India's stock market capitalization crossed USD 4 trillion for the first time, with about half of that reportedly coming in the past 4 years.

The top 3 stock markets are the U.S., China, and Japan.

• A naiyandi melam is a type of percussion instrument that is unique to Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of South India.
• It is performed by artistes of different communities. The word, naiyandi, means making fun.

Naiyandi melam follows a set of tunes, beginning with ‘thooku’.