Internet economy should embrace NaaS.

• The last decade has seen the emergence of numerous internet-based tech startups, often referred to as the children of the internet as these unicorns and consumer companies will not exist without the internet.
• Expanding User Base: The consumer user base is rapidly expanding to access services from e-commerce, mobility, food delivery, home, edutech, finance, insurance, gaming, etc in addition to availing services from the government.
• Rising India’s Internet Economy: India is most likely to meet its target of $1 trillion by 2030.
• India has over 850 million active internet users, and the digital economy will contribute about 20% to the GDP by 2026.
• Growth Projections for India’s Data Centre Market: With the rise and expansion of cloud-based services, there has been an increasing investment in data centers.
• According to an Arizton Advisory and Intelligence research report in 2022, the value of India’s data centre market is expected to increase from $4.35 billion in 2021 to $10.09 billion by 2027 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.07%.

NaaS (network as a service):

• NaaS is a cloud-like networking model where network resources are provided to the customer on demand.
• Network infrastructure is the basic framework of a network consisting of hardware and software resources that enable communication paths between users. 
• Need of NaaS: With enterprises leveraging cloud services seamlessly and dynamically scaling their operations, there exists a gap in network infrastructure to meet the expectations of this evolving cloud ecosystem.
• This gap has catalyzed the rise of NaaS (network as a service), offering software automation functionalities and intelligent network infrastructure in a flexible and on-demand manner akin to cloud services.

Advantages of NaaS:

• Flexible Scaling Options: Similar to other “as-a-service” models (like SaaS, platform as a service or PaaS, etc.), NaaS offers networking functionality without the need for the customer to invest in hardware or manage the infrastructure directly.
• Through simple subscription and options like pay-as-you-go, organizations can scale their network infrastructure more flexibly and efficiently according to their needs.
• Presently, NaaS platforms offer improved network performance at exceptional speeds, delivering consumers a seamless and frictionless browsing experience while ensuring robust security measures.
• Facilitating Instantaneous Connections across Various Network Nodes: It enables instantaneous connections in any combination between two or more public clouds, data centers, internet exchanges, and content delivery networks.
• This breaks away from the traditional telco approach of manually stitching each connection across weeks and even months at times.
• Scalable Networks for Dynamic Traffic Handling: It allows organizations to have scalable networks that can take care of sudden spikes in traffic or eliminate underutilisation.

Challenges with NaaS:

• Limitations of Hardware-based NaaS Solution: Currently, NaaS solutions are predominantly reliant on hardware, which comes with inherent limitations in terms of flexibility, agility, and cost-effectiveness.
• As businesses increasingly adopt hybrid and multi-cloud environments for enhanced security and control, the integration of a software layer atop the network infrastructure will enable optimal resource utilization.
• Criticality of Network Performance: User satisfaction heavily relies on networks swiftly delivering their data.
• If a basic online search lags, a transaction loads slowly, or a video buffers even briefly, it results in user dissatisfaction and a subpar application experience.
• A mere few seconds of delay, or worse, downtime, can result in significant business losses.
• Therefore, a software-defined networking platform providing secure and reliable network infrastructure presents a compelling use case for the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) industry.
• Inertia to Migrate:  As is the case with any innovation, the inertia to change from legacy solutions hinders its adoption.
• While network security and bandwidth-on-demand are lucrative features of NaaS, enterprises may be hesitant to migrate.

Recently, Indian Air Force’s MI 17 V5 helicopter was deployed to extinguish the raging forest fires in Nainital district, Uttarakhand.

Bambi Bucket:

• It  was invented by Don Arney, a Canadian business, in 1982
• It is a specialized aerial firefighting tool which has been in use since the 1980s.
• The Bambi Bucket, also called a helicopter bucket or a heli-bucket, is a specialized lightweight collapsible container that releases water from underneath a helicopter to targeted areas.
• The water is released by using a pilot-controlled valve.

Key features :

• It is available in a variety of sizes and models, with capacities ranging from 270 litres to more than 9,840 litres.
• It can be quickly and easily filled.
• It can be filled from various sources, including lakes and swimming pools, which allows firefighters to swiftly refill it and return to the target area.
• It can be stored within the helicopter until development.
• It discharges a solid column of water, “resulting in a more accurate and effective water dump, less evaporation on the descent, and greater impact force.

The Ministry of Mines will hold a two day “Critical Minerals Summit: Enhancing Beneficiation and Processing Capabilities”

Critical Minerals Summit:

• It is organised by the Ministry of Mines, Government of India, in collaboration with the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (Shakti), the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), and the Indian Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD).
• It is designed to foster collaboration, share knowledge, and drive innovation in the field of critical mineral beneficiation and processing.
• The summit will bring together a diverse array of Indian and international stakeholders, including industry leaders, startups, government officials, scientists, academics, and policy experts.
• It will address the increasing demand for Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) required for renewable energy systems and electric vehicles as part of India's strategic development goals.
• The Ministry of Mines has identified eight key minerals for focus at the summit, including Glauconite (Potash), Lithium – Rare Earth Elements (Laterite), Chromium, Platinum Group, Graphite, Tungsten associated with Graphite, Rare Earths(RE), and Vanadium associated with Graphite.
• Participants will engage in active dialogue and interactive workshops focused on critical issues such as mineral auction progress, policy incentives for CRMs ecosystem development, and the advancement of commercially viable and environmentally sustainable solutions.

Critical Minerals:

• It is a metallic or non-metallic element that has two characteristics.
• It is essential for the functioning of our modern technologies, economies or national security and
• There is a risk that its supply chains could be disrupted.
• The 'criticality' of minerals changes with time as supply and society's needs shift.

Applications:

• They are used to manufacture advanced technologies, including mobile phones, computers, fibre-optic cables, semiconductors, banknotes, and defence, aerospace and medical applications.
• Many are used in low-emission technologies, such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, and rechargeable batteries.
• Some are also crucial for common products, such as stainless steel and electronics.
• Examples: antimony, beryllium, bismuth, cobalt, copper, gallium, germanium, lithium, vanadium, etc.
• Top Producers: Chile, Indonesia, Congo, China, Australia, and South Africa.

Critical Minerals in India:

• Government has released a list of 30 critical minerals for India.
• These minerals are Antimony, Beryllium, Bismuth, Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Graphite, Hafnium, Indium, Lithium, Molybdenum, Niobium, Nickel, PGE, Phosphorous, Potash, REE, Rhenium, Silicon, Strontium, Tantalum, Tellurium, Tin, Titanium, Tungsten, Vanadium, Zirconium, Selenium, and Cadmium.

Rare Earth Elements:

REE are a set of seventeen elements in the periodic table. These include the fifteen lanthanides on the periodic table plus scandium and yttrium. REE are all metals, and the group is often referred to as the "rare earth metals. Although called "rare", they are actually found relatively abundantly in the Earth's crust. These metals are very difficult to mine because it is unusual to find them in concentrations high enough for economical extraction .These metals have many similar properties, and that often causes them to be found together in geologic deposits .They are also referred to as "rare earth oxides" because many of them are typically sold as oxide compounds.

India-Bangladesh Bilateral Talks On Civil Service Capacity Building

• Secretary of Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) visiting Bangladesh for bilateral discussions regarding renewal of MOU between National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) India and Bangladesh Ministry of Public Administration for the period 2024-2029.

National Centre for Good Governance:

• It is an autonomous institute under the aegis of Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India.
• The NCGG has been set up to assist in bringing about governance reforms through studies, training, knowledge sharing and promotion of good ideas.
• It seeks to carry out policy relevant research and prepare case studies; curate training courses for civil servants from India and other developing countries.

Background:

• It traces its origin to the National Institute of Administrative Research (NIAR). NIAR was set up in 1995 by the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) the Government of India's apex training Institute for higher civil services.
• NIAR was subsequently renamed with an expanded mandate, as National Centre for Good Governance, which was inaugurated on February 24th, 2014.
• Objectives
• To function as a national repository on information on best practices, initiatives and methodologies that promote Good Governance, e-Governance etc.
• To advise on key issues in governance and develop synergy across various Ministries/ Departments of GoI, and State Governments.

Governing Body:

• The affairs of the NCGG are managed under the overall superintendence and direction of the Governing Body, which is headed by the Cabinet Secretary.
• It has Secretaries of 9 ministries/ departments and 5 eminent persons viz. academicians, eminent administrators, specialists, eminent innovators, heads of reputed institutions as members.
• The Director General, who is the Chief Executive of NCGG acts as the Member–Secretary of the Governing Body.
• Head office: Its head office is at New Delhi and the branch office at Mussoorie.

The US Secretary of State during his three-day visit to China spoke about the production and export of “synthetic opioid precursors” specifically the drug fentanyl.

• The US has primarily blamed Mexico and China for the trafficking of fentanyl.
• Fentanyl synthetic opioids are the leading killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 49.

Opioid Menace in India:

• According to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the number of opioid users in India stood at 23 million in 2018 – a 600 per cent increase since 2004.
• The number of cannabis users stood at 31 million in India.
• Heroin, pharmaceutical opioids, and opium were the most commonly-abused opioids in India.

Opioids:

• They are a class of drugs that “derive from, or mimic, natural substances found in the opium poppy plant”.
• Some common opioids include oxycodone, morphine, codeine, heroin, and fentanyl.
• Impacts: According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA, they are very addictive and have a range of effects, such as euphoria and pain relief.

Fentanyl Synthetic Opioids:

• Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an analgesic [for pain relief] and anesthetic.
• Impact: It is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic.”
• Overdoses can cause “stupor, changes in pupil size, clammy skin, cyanosis [blue skin], coma, and respiratory failure leading to death”.
• Opioids have an instantaneous effect that gets off quickly, necessitating regular use. People who first start taking opioid-based prescription painkillers frequently develop addictions.