The Amriti-Sirkhandi Dam (often spelled Shikhandi Dam) is an irrigation reservoir located in the Jamui district of Bihar.
#BIHARspecial
#BIHARspecial
Bihar Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy 2026
Cabinet approval: 28 October 2026
Department: Information Technology Department, Government of Bihar.
Objective: Promote AI-based innovation, technological development and investment in Bihar.
Expected focus: Build Bihar’s AI ecosystem, encourage technology-driven growth and create new opportunities.
Significance: Supports Bihar’s digital transformation and ambition to emerge as an emerging technology hub.
Key provisions of the policy
Investment: Incentives for AI companies, startups, digital enterprises and Global Capability Centres (GCCs).
Financial incentives: Capital subsidy, interest subsidy, cloud-computing support, rent and electricity subsidies, employment incentives and SGST reimbursement.
Startups and research: Incubation, mentoring, innovation challenges and Centres of Excellence.
Priority sectors: Agriculture, healthcare, education, manufacturing, urban services and governance.
Infrastructure: AI innovation hubs, data and computing facilities, IT parks and plug-and-play facilities.
Skill development: Government target reported as training 5 lakh youths in AI over five years.
Implementation: A specialised team was proposed to oversee timely implementation.
Background
Google Cloud: Bihar approved an MoU with Google Cloud India in June 2026 to develop the state’s AI ecosystem.
Bihar State AI CoE Corporation: Its establishment was approved through a July 2026 government notification to promote AI research and innovation.
#BIHARspecial
Cabinet approval: 28 October 2026
Department: Information Technology Department, Government of Bihar.
Objective: Promote AI-based innovation, technological development and investment in Bihar.
Expected focus: Build Bihar’s AI ecosystem, encourage technology-driven growth and create new opportunities.
Significance: Supports Bihar’s digital transformation and ambition to emerge as an emerging technology hub.
Key provisions of the policy
Investment: Incentives for AI companies, startups, digital enterprises and Global Capability Centres (GCCs).
Financial incentives: Capital subsidy, interest subsidy, cloud-computing support, rent and electricity subsidies, employment incentives and SGST reimbursement.
Startups and research: Incubation, mentoring, innovation challenges and Centres of Excellence.
Priority sectors: Agriculture, healthcare, education, manufacturing, urban services and governance.
Infrastructure: AI innovation hubs, data and computing facilities, IT parks and plug-and-play facilities.
Skill development: Government target reported as training 5 lakh youths in AI over five years.
Implementation: A specialised team was proposed to oversee timely implementation.
Background
Google Cloud: Bihar approved an MoU with Google Cloud India in June 2026 to develop the state’s AI ecosystem.
Bihar State AI CoE Corporation: Its establishment was approved through a July 2026 government notification to promote AI research and innovation.
#BIHARspecial
Bihar Krishi: Bihar’s integrated digital farmer-service platform won Gold at the Doing Good for Bharat Awards 2026 under Governance and Public Services; it covers all 38 districts and has around 20 lakh registered farmers.
#BIHARspecial
#BIHARspecial
Election Commission of India (ECI): Independence and Appointment
1. Historical background
Shibban Lal Saxena (1949): Warned that government control over appointments could turn Election Commissioners into ruling-party loyalists; proposed a two-thirds majority in Parliament for appointment.
H.N. Kunzru: Stressed the need for safeguards to ensure Commissioners act fearlessly and independently.
B.R. Ambedkar: Recognised the difficulty of designing a satisfactory appointment mechanism; Article 324(2) left the appointment process to be regulated by Parliament through law.
2. Present appointment mechanism
Supreme Court, Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023): Temporarily prescribed a selection committee comprising the PM, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and CJI, until Parliament made a law.
Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023: Replaced the CJI with a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM.
3. Why does it matter?
Concern: The government has a majority in the selection committee, raising concerns about executive dominance.
Constitutional principle: Free and fair elections are essential to democracy.
Impact: Perceived political influence can weaken public trust in the neutrality of elections.
4. Way forward
Consider a more independent, broad-based selection committee.
Ensure transparent selection criteria and public accountability.
Strengthen the institutional autonomy of the ECI.
Conclusion: An independent Election Commission is essential to ensure that elections are not merely conducted, but are also perceived to be free and fair.
#GS2mains
1. Historical background
Shibban Lal Saxena (1949): Warned that government control over appointments could turn Election Commissioners into ruling-party loyalists; proposed a two-thirds majority in Parliament for appointment.
H.N. Kunzru: Stressed the need for safeguards to ensure Commissioners act fearlessly and independently.
B.R. Ambedkar: Recognised the difficulty of designing a satisfactory appointment mechanism; Article 324(2) left the appointment process to be regulated by Parliament through law.
2. Present appointment mechanism
Supreme Court, Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023): Temporarily prescribed a selection committee comprising the PM, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and CJI, until Parliament made a law.
Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023: Replaced the CJI with a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM.
3. Why does it matter?
Concern: The government has a majority in the selection committee, raising concerns about executive dominance.
Constitutional principle: Free and fair elections are essential to democracy.
Impact: Perceived political influence can weaken public trust in the neutrality of elections.
4. Way forward
Consider a more independent, broad-based selection committee.
Ensure transparent selection criteria and public accountability.
Strengthen the institutional autonomy of the ECI.
Conclusion: An independent Election Commission is essential to ensure that elections are not merely conducted, but are also perceived to be free and fair.
#GS2mains
❤1
Vashishtha Narayan Singh
Field: Renowned mathematician from Bihar; specialised in mathematics, particularly operator theory.
Research: PhD thesis - Reproducing Kernels and Operators with a Cyclic Vector, University of California, Berkeley (1969).
#BIHARspecial
Field: Renowned mathematician from Bihar; specialised in mathematics, particularly operator theory.
Research: PhD thesis - Reproducing Kernels and Operators with a Cyclic Vector, University of California, Berkeley (1969).
#BIHARspecial
CCUS = Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage
1. Meaning: Technology to capture CO₂ emissions from industries, preventing their release into the atmosphere.
2. Three stages:
Capture CO₂ at emission source.
Transport captured CO₂.
Utilise it in products or store it permanently underground.
3. Applications: Decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors – Steel, Cement, Power, Refineries and Chemicals; CO₂ can also produce fuels, chemicals and building materials.
4. Union Budget 2026–27: ₹20,000 crore allocated over 5 years for CCUS development and deployment in the above five sectors.
5. India’s first integrated CCUS Field Laboratory: Inaugurated at IIT Bombay (11 May 2026) by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan; pilot facility has a capacity of 3 tonnes CO₂ per day.
Important facts:
India’s Net Zero target: 2070.
NITI Aayog released CCUS Policy Framework and Deployment Mechanism in 2022.
Keyword: CCUS helps decarbonise hard-to-abate industries where emissions cannot be eliminated easily through renewable energy or electrification alone.
#CA2026
1. Meaning: Technology to capture CO₂ emissions from industries, preventing their release into the atmosphere.
2. Three stages:
Capture CO₂ at emission source.
Transport captured CO₂.
Utilise it in products or store it permanently underground.
3. Applications: Decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors – Steel, Cement, Power, Refineries and Chemicals; CO₂ can also produce fuels, chemicals and building materials.
4. Union Budget 2026–27: ₹20,000 crore allocated over 5 years for CCUS development and deployment in the above five sectors.
5. India’s first integrated CCUS Field Laboratory: Inaugurated at IIT Bombay (11 May 2026) by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan; pilot facility has a capacity of 3 tonnes CO₂ per day.
Important facts:
India’s Net Zero target: 2070.
NITI Aayog released CCUS Policy Framework and Deployment Mechanism in 2022.
Keyword: CCUS helps decarbonise hard-to-abate industries where emissions cannot be eliminated easily through renewable energy or electrification alone.
#CA2026