CONTENTS
- BharatGen
- International Day of Older Persons 2024
BharatGen
Context:
Recently, the Ministry of Science & Technology launched BharatGen, a generative AI initiative designed to enhance public service delivery.
Relevance:
GS II: Government Policies and Interventions
BharatGen
- BharatGen is an initiative aimed at developing core models in the domains of language, speech, and computer vision, with a focus on India’s rich cultural and linguistic diversity.
- It stands as the world’s first government-supported project to create a Multimodal Large Language Model (LLM) specifically for Indian languages.
- LLMs are advanced AI models that can comprehend and generate human languages by analyzing extensive text datasets.
- This initiative is spearheaded by IIT Bombay under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), working in collaboration with prestigious academic institutions, including several IITs and IIM Indore.
- A key focus of this project is on developing frameworks that curate India-specific datasets, giving the country greater control over its digital resources. The initiative has several defining features:
- Development of multilingual and multimodal models,
- Training based on datasets that reflect Indian languages and contexts,
- A commitment to using an open-source platform,
- Establishing a research ecosystem focused on generative AI within India.
International Day of Older Persons 2024
Context:
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment observed International Day of Older Persons 2024 on 1st October 2024.
Relevance:
GS II: Government Policies and Interventions
International Day of Older Persons 2024 Overview:
- Theme for 2024:
- “Ageing with Dignity: The Importance of Strengthening Care and Support Systems for Older Persons Worldwide.”
- Purpose of the International Day of Older Persons:
- This day honors the contributions of older adults to society and emphasizes the necessity for inclusive and age-friendly environments globally.
- It was officially established by the UN General Assembly on 14th October 1990, drawing from the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing (1982) and the UN Principles for Older Persons.
- Global Commitments and Framework:
- The UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030) supports Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG-3), which focuses on good health and well-being.
- India established the National Policy on Older Persons (NPOP) in 1999, and it is part of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (2002).
- Elderly Population Data:
- As of December 2023, India has 153 million people aged 60 and above, with this figure expected to rise to 347 million by 2050, representing 20.8% of the nation’s total population.
- Globally, the population of older persons increased from 260 million in 1980 to 761 million in 2021, with projections indicating this will rise to 17% of the total global population by 2050.
