June 9, 2023

Current Affairs

CSE analysis says South Delhi, New Delhi worst affected by ground-level ozone

Context: According to a new analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), parts of the Delhi-NCR region witnessed ground-level ozone readings exceeding the national standards on 87 out of 92 days in the summer period.

About Ground Level Ozone or Tropospheric ozone:

Ozone (O3) high in the Earth's atmosphere protects us from the sun's harmful radiation. But ozone at ground level (tropospheric ozone), is an air pollutant that harms people and plants.
Ground-level ozone is a colorless and highly irritating gas that forms just above the earth's surface.

How ground level ozone is formed?

It is called a "secondary" pollutant because it is produced when two primary pollutants react in sunlight and stagnant air.
These two primary pollutants are nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
These precursor primary pollutants are each produced primarily by a variety of human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels and various industrial processes. Certain types of volatile organic compounds can also be emitted from natural sources.

Impacts:

Ground-level ozone is known to have significant effects on human health. Exposure to ozone has been linked to premature mortality and a range of morbidity health issues.
It can significantly impact vegetation and decrease the productivity of some crops.
It can also damage synthetic materials, cause cracks in rubber, accelerate fading of dyes, and speed deterioration of some paints and coatings.

Central Electricity Authority Fast-tracks Approval Mechanism for Pumped Storage Projects

Context: The government has taken various steps recently in order to ensure that Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) get commissioned on a fast track, thereby accelerating the growth of India’s renewable energy capacity.

To cite a recent example, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has accorded concurrence to Upper Sileru Pumped Storage Project (PSP) of 1350 MW being developed at Sileru, Alluri Sitharama Raju district of Andhra Pradesh by APGENCO (A Government of Andhra Pradesh Undertaking) in record time of 70 days against the stipulated timeline of 90 days.

What is Pumped Storage Hydropower?

Pumped storage hydropower (PSH) is a type of hydroelectric energy storage.
It is a configuration of two water reservoirs at different elevations that can generate power as water moves down from one to the other (discharge), passing through a turbine.
The system also requires power as it pumps water back into the upper reservoir (recharge).
PSH acts similarly to a giant battery, because it can store power and then release it when needed.
- During periods of excess electricity supply or low demand, typically when renewable energy sources like wind or solar are producing more electricity than needed, the excess electricity is used to pump water from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir, thereby storing the energy. This pumping process usually takes place during off-peak hours when electricity is cheaper.
- When there is a demand for electricity or during periods of high demand, the stored water in the upper reservoir is released back to the lower reservoir.
- As the water flows downhill, it passes through the turbine, which generates electricity. The electricity generated can be dispatched to the grid to meet the demand.

Importance of Pumped Storage System for India’s Energy Future

Hydro Pumped Storage Projects are necessary to achieve Government of India’s commitment of 500 GW installed capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by the year 2030 and Net Zero carbon emissions by the year 2070.
PSPs will help integrate intermittent Renewable Energy with the Grid. It will enable supply of dispatchable RE power and help in meeting the peaking requirement of the Grid.
In recognition of its role, 39 Hydro PSPs of 47 GW are being pursued to be commissioned by the year 2029-30.
Pumped Storage System utilises surplus grid power available from thermal power stations or other sources to pump up water from lower to upper reservoir and reproduces power during peak demand when there is scarcity of power.

First Loan Default Guarantee (FLDG)

What is FLDG?

First Loan Default Guarantee (FLDG) is a lending model serviced between digital-lending fintechs and their partner banks and NBFCs.
Under these agreements, the fintech originates a loan and promises to compensate the partners up to a pre-decided percentage in case customers fail to repay.
The bank/NBFC partners lend through fintech but from their own books.

RBI Framework

Regulated Entities (REs) shall ensure that the total amount of default loss guarantee (DLG) cover on any outstanding portfolio which is specified upfront shall not exceed 5% of the amount of that loan portfolio.
In the case of implicit guarantee arrangements, the DLG Provider shall not bear a performance risk of more than the equivalent amount of 5% of the underlying loan portfolio.
The RE shall invoke DLG within a maximum overdue period of 120 days, unless made good by the borrower before that.
In terms asset quality, recognition of individual loan assets in the portfolio as NPA and consequent provisioning shall be the responsibility of the RE as per the extant asset classification and provisioning norms irrespective of any DLG cover available at the portfolio level. The amount of DLG invoked shall not be set off against the underlying individual loans. Recovery by the RE, if any, from the loans on which DLG has been invoked and realised, can be shared with the DLG provider in terms of the contractual arrangement.
Any DLG arrangement shall not act as a substitute for credit appraisal requirements and robust credit underwriting standards need to be put in place irrespective of DLG cover.

Benefits

Expand the customer base of traditional lenders but relies on the fintech’s underwriting capabilities.
Enhances the deeper partnerships and collaboration between legacy institutions (Banks, regulated entities, NBFCs) and new age fintech’s - democratises access to credit and fuel growth for the unserved and underserved.
Strengthens credit penetration and boosts the digital lending ecosystem.
Promotes more transparency and discipline in the digital lending environment.
Widens the scope of resolution of stressed assets.

National Exit Test

Context: Recently Union Health Ministry announced that the National Exit Test (NExT) will be held in 2024.

About National Exit Test

NExt will replace the final-year MBBS examination and the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Postgraduate (NEET-PG), acting as the test for registration for doctors and admission to medical postgraduate courses.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, was likely to conduct the exam, which will test the clinical and practical learning of the students.

Medical education in India

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has been constituted by an act of Parliament known as the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 to regulate medical education in India.

The objective of NMC includes to:

Improve access to quality and affordable medical education,
Ensure the availability of adequate and high-quality medical professionals in all parts of the country;
Promote equitable and universal healthcare that encourages community health perspective and makes services of medical professionals access to all the citizens;
Encourages medical professionals to adopt the latest medical research in their work and to contribute to research;
Objectively assess medical institutions periodically in a transparent manner;
Maintain a medical register for India;
Enforce high ethical standards in all aspects of medical services;
Have an effective grievance redressal mechanism.

The functions of NMC include to:

lay down policies for maintaining high quality and high standards in medical education and make necessary regulations on this behalf;
lay down policies for regulating medical institutions, medical researchers and medical professionals and make necessary regulations on this behalf;
assess the requirements in healthcare, including human resources for health and healthcare infrastructure and develop a road map for meeting such requirements;
promote, co-ordinate and frame guidelines and lay down policies by making necessary regulations for the proper functioning of the Commission, the Autonomous Boards and the State Medical Councils;
ensure coordination among the Autonomous Boards;
take such measures, as may be necessary, to ensure compliance by the State Medical Councils of the guidelines framed and regulations made under this Act for their effective functioning under this Act;
exercise appellate jurisdiction with respect to the decisions of the Autonomous Boards;
lay down policies and codes to ensure observance of professional ethics in the medical profession and to promote ethical conduct during the provision of care by medical practitioners;
frame guidelines for the determination of fees and all other charges in respect of fifty per cent. of seats in private medical institutions and deemed to be universities that are governed under the provisions of this Act;
exercise such other powers and perform such other functions as may be prescribed.

Members of NMC

The Commission shall consist of the following persons to be appointed by the Central Government, namely:—

a Chairperson;
ten ex officio Members; and
twenty-two part-time Members.

Structure of NMC

Each Board referred to in the sub-section shall be an autonomous body that shall carry out its functions under this Act subject to the regulations made by the Commission.
Each Autonomous Board shall consist of a President, two whole-time Members, and two part-time Members.

National Examination

There shall be a uniform National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admission to the undergraduate and postgraduate super-speciality medical education in all medical institutions which are governed by the provisions of the NMC Act 2019.
The Commission shall specify by regulations the manner of conducting common counselling by the designated authority for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate super-speciality seats in all the medical institutions.
A typical final year undergraduate medical examination, known as the National Exit Test shall be held for granting a licence to practice medicine as a medical practitioner and for enrolment in the State Register or the National Register.
Any person with a foreign medical qualification shall have to qualify National Exit Test for the purpose of obtaining a licence to practice medicine as a medical practitioner and for enrolment in the State Register or the National Register.
The National Exit Test shall be the basis for admission to the postgraduate broad-speciality medical education in medical institutions.

Do PLI schemes for Manufacturing Work?

About the PLI Scheme

Production Linked Incentive refers to a rebate given to producers. This rebate is calculated as a certain percentage of sales of the producer (sales referred to in it can be total sales or incremental sales).
The incentives, calculated on the basis of incremental sales, range from as low as 1 per cent for the electronics and technology products to as high as 20 per cent for the manufacturing of critical key starting drugs and certain drug intermediaries.

Key Features of PLI Scheme

The scheme is outcome-based, which means that incentives will be disbursed only after production has taken place.
The calculation of incentives is based on incremental production at a high rate of growth. In some sectors such as advanced chemistry cell batteries, textile products and the drone industry, the incentive to be given will be calculated on the basis of sales, performance and local value addition done over the period of five years.
The scheme focuses on size and scale by selecting those players who can deliver on volumes.
The selection of sectors covering cutting-edge technology, sectors for integration with global value chains, job-creating sectors and sectors closely linked to the rural economy, is highly calibrated.
Also, the design of the PLI scheme is such that it is compatible with World Trade Organization commitments as the quantum of support is not directly linked to exports or value-addition.

Significance of this Scheme

Utilising the comparative advantage: In some sectors the domestic industry has comparative advantage over other countries, focusing on these sectors could generate higher returns. For instance The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the third largest in the world by volume and 14th largest in terms of value. It contributes 3.5% of the total drugs and medicines exported globally.
Increased ability to tap the high global and domestic demand: This will help satisfy the growing domestic demand in the respective sectors and also give a fillip to exports.
Attracts Global Manufacturers: The renewed scheme could attract big global IT hardware manufacturers to shift their production base to India and give a boost to local production of laptops, servers and personal computers among others.
Generates Employment: The expected incremental production value could touch Rs 3.35 lakh crore, and the scheme could generate 75,000 direct jobs – in total, the employment figure could touch 2 lakh when accounted for indirect jobs.
Promotes Digital Economy: By deepening & broadening the electronics ecosystem in India, this scheme will play a key role in catalysing India’s Techade and in achieving the $1 trillion digital economy goal – including $300 billion of electronics manufacturing by 2025-26
Increased Exports: The IT hardware industry is targeted to reach a production of $24 billion by 2025-26, with exports anticipated to be in the range of $12-17 billion during the same period.
Promotes Private Investment: From the perspective of industry, the scheme indicates an attitudinal shift from ‘discouragement’ to ‘encouragement’ for large industries and simultaneously provides the much-needed fiscal space required during the Pandemic.

Potential Issues with the Scheme

Absence of Common Parameters: DPIIT has raised concerns there were no common set of parameters to understand the value addition by companies that have received or are likely to receive incentives under the PLI scheme. At present, different ministries monitor the value addition of their respective PLI schemes. There is no way to compare two different schemes.
Multiple Deliverables: Also, there are various deliverables such as the number of jobs created, the rise in exports and quality improvement. There is no centralised database to gauge all these.
Steep Targets: Departments and ministries which interact with companies operating in their sector also face certain specific issues. For instance, at times, the target for companies to qualify for incentives are too steep. As for the Information Technology hardware sector, until last fiscal, only 3-4 companies managed to achieve the incremental sales targets to qualify for the PLI scheme out of the 14 companies that had been approved.
Designing sector specific incentives: The implementation of PLI scheme in the Electronics sector and Pharmaceutical sector has highlighted that every sector has to have different eligibility thresholds. Given the large range of activities covered in the 10 sectors, effectively determining the thresholds for each could become a difficult task.
Interfering with natural economic processes: In the long run, an economy can become competitive only when sectors can die and be born. Resources get reallocated to sectors that see higher productivity growth. External interference may hinder optimised allocation of resources.
Relative disadvantage for sectors with no incentives: The limited resources of the economy in the form of Capital and human resources will be nudged towards incentivized sectors thus indirectly disincentivizing other sectors.

Way Forward

Pre-defined Sunset clause on scheme: It will not only be beneficial for the sector in the long-term, it will also encourage the individual players to see it as a one-time opportunity for capacity building.
Improve technological competence: The breathing room created by these incentives could be used by the industry players to increase their technological competence and transition towards becoming globally competitive.
Improve business environment: It can be done by improving transparency and predictability in the policy framework. For example, simplification of the taxation regime or easing the land acquisition process etc. This becomes even more important for industries which are outside the purview PLI Scheme.
Managing the real exchange rate better to strengthen the export regime: The real exchange rate (adjusted for inflation) in India has appreciated 19% in the last decade on account of both Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI). This appreciation negatively affects the overall exports.
Augment industrial infrastructure and connectivity by increasing expenditure on infra creation for improved competitiveness.
Regular scheme review to keep track of progress and address concerns over raw materials, funds, skilled workforce, payments etc
Increased investments in innovation, research and skill development is necessary to build talent for PLI success.

Conclusion

The scheme and its associated ecosystem have ensured that India is well-positioned to develop resilient GVCs, which will continue to provide national security in the evolving global scenario. Indian manufacturers now feel emboldened to move out of their comfort zone with a clear vision of becoming global champions even as India marches towards its emergence as developed India.
However, the incentives should be well-crafted and temporary so that the industries receiving support can mature and become economically viable without protection. Keeping them in place for too long may slow down, rather than accelerate growth in these sectors.

The US – China thaw

Context: In an attempt to foster greater cooperation and understanding, US and China have shown signs of willingness to engage in diplomatic dialogue.

Outreach efforts by US

Recently the Director of CIA made a visit to China in order to stabilize the relationship and prevent a possibility of open conflict.
US National Security Advisor visited China in May 2023, to maintain channels of communication and ‘manage competition’.
At G7 meeting in Hiroshima, President Biden emphasizes that US is not looking to decouple from China but to de-risk and diversify its relations.

Instances of Conflict between US China

Antony Blinken called off a visit in February 2023 to China after Chinese high-altitude balloon appeared above US.
China is suspicious that QUAD is a mechanism to contain it in Indo Pacific.
The visit of Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in August 2022, further strained the relations between US and China.
Chinese side publicly stated that US led West wants to contain and suppress China.

US and China moving towards a detente

It will help in reducing tensions and pave the way for cooperation between them.
It is acknowledged that they possess the most formidable capacities globally and should commit to shape their policies in a manner that minimizes the likelihood of military confrontation with them.

India’s position in US China Dynamics

US and India have grown closer over a shared perception of China’s rise.
US sees India as a major partner in its endeavour to build a regional coalition against China.

Roadmap for India

India must develop a strategic approach to balance China by collaborating with the United States and other countries that share concerns regarding China, all while maintaining its own autonomy. It is crucial to clearly define the boundaries of this strategic alignment, determine India's willingness to engage, and effectively manage expectations on both sides.

DRDO successfully tests ballistic missile ‘Agni Prime’

Context: The new generation ballistic missile ‘Agni Prime’ was successfully flight-tested by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha.

Agni series of missiles

The Agni series of missiles is a family of long-range, surface-to-surface ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear bombs.
Developed by: Defence Research and Development Organisation
There are currently six operational missiles in the Agni series: Agni-I, Agni-II, Agni-III, Agni-IV, Agni-V, and Agni-Prime and one missile is under development (Agni-VI). Each missile has different ranges and capabilities.

1. Agni-I

Agni-I is the shortest-range and oldest missile in the Agni family of Indian nuclear-capable missiles. It was first tested at the Chandipur test range, off the coast of Odisha in 1989.
It is a two-stage solid-fuel missile that can be stored in canisters and transported by road and rail.
Range: 700 km
The missile has a specialised navigation system that ensures it reaches the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision.
Agni-I is used by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the Indian Army.

2. Agni-II

The Agni-II is a medium-range ballistic missile equipped with two solid fuel stages.
Range: 2000-2500 km
They are said to be a component of "credible deterrence" against China and Pakistan.

3. Agni-III

Agni-III is a two-stage ballistic missile that can carry nuclear weapons.
Range: 3500 km

4. Agni-IV

It is an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile which uses a two-stage rocket engine powered by solid propellants.
Range: 4000 km
It is equipped with state-of-the-art avionics, an accurate Ring Laser Gyro-based Inertial Navigation System, supported by the highly reliable redundant Micro Navigation System for high precision.

5. Agni-V

The Agni 5 is the first of its kind inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) of India.
It is a three-stage solid-rocket-powered missile system capable of delivering a 1.5-tonne nuclear warhead.
Range: exceeding 5000 km
Agni-V can bring almost the entire Asia, including the northernmost part of China, as well as some regions in Europe, under its striking range.

6. Agni-P

The Agni Prime missile is a new-generation advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles.
The two-stage canisterised ballistic missile has a range between 1000 and 2000 kilometres.
It is India's first 'declared' MIRV (Multiple Independently-targetable Reentry Vehicles) missiles, and it is 50% lighter than Agni-III.
Agni-Prime may be launched from train and road and stored for an extended period. It can be used to target enemy ships in the Indian Ocean.

7. Agni-VI

Agni-VI is a three-stage solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile in the early phases of development in India.
It will be able to launch from both submarines and land and carry independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRV) payloads.
Range: 8000-10000 km

Scientists discover a virgin birth (Parthenogen) in a crocodile

Context: Recently female crocodile in a Costa Rican zoo laid a clutch of eggs. That was peculiar: She’d been living alone for 16 years.

How does a virgin birth happen?

As an egg cell matures in its mother’s body, it divides repeatedly to generate a final product with exactly half the genes needed for an individual.
Three smaller cellular sacs containing chromosomes, known as polar bodies, are formed as byproducts. Polar bodies usually wither away.
But in vertebrates that can perform parthenogenesis, one polar body sometimes fuses with the egg, creating a cell with the necessary complement of chromosomes to form an individual.
This process of Vergine birth (offspring containing only genetic material from its mother) is known as parthenogenesis

Parthenogenesis can be seen in the following creatures

King cobras
Sawfish
California condors
Crocodile
Some birds
Lizards

Why parthenogenesis occurs?

It’s possible that parthenogenesis gives a species the ability to survive extended periods when no mate is available.
A fresh individual, bearing largely the same genes as its parent, might live long enough for a mate to arrive, thus allowing sexual reproduction, which tends to produce hardier offspring.
But it is also possible that parthenogenesis is simply a trait that doesn’t have enough downsides for evolution to weed it out.
It is not necessarily a response to stress or even a lack of mates. In 2020, scientists discovered that lizards can mate and then lay clutches of eggs where some are normal offspring and some are parthenogens.
It’s an ability that can be switched on or off, and it is perhaps controlled by a single gene.

UPI transaction limit set by Indian banks

Context: Unified Payments Interface (UPI) related frauds have been on the rise. To check the number of transactions and reduce the risk of big financial frauds, leading banks including HDFC Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Axis Bank, and ICICI Bank have implemented some restrictions on UPI transactions. These come as the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has set guidelines to regulate the expanding digital payment ecosystem.

What is UPI

UPI is an instant real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
The mobile-based fast payment system is built over the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) infrastructure.

Features:

The payments can be made round-the-clock and in real time.
It eliminates the risk of sharing bank account details by the remitter as customers are not required to enter the details such as Card no, account number, IFSC, etc.
UPI supports both Person-to-Person (P2P) and Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payments and it also enables a user to send or receive money.
It enables the use of a single mobile application for accessing different bank accounts.
Transactions are carried out through mobile devices with two-factor authentication using device binding and a UPI PIN as security.
Registration of Beneficiary is not required for transferring funds through UPI as the fund would be transferred based on using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) created by the customer.

Daily limits for UPI

Set by NPCI

At present, users can make up to 20 transactions or ₹1 lakh in a single day either all at once or through the day. For certain specific categories of transactions such as the capital markets, collections (such as bills, among others), insurance, and forward inward remittances, the limit is ₹2 lakh.
In December 2021, the limit for the UPI-based ASBA (Application Supported by Blocked Amount) IPO and retail direct schemes was increased to ₹5 lahks for each transaction.

Set by banks and apps

The transaction limits can vary between banks and may depend on factors such as the type of account, customer profile, and the bank's risk assessment policies and individual banks have established their own limits for UPI transactions like PNB’s daily limit is ₹50,000, SBI’s daily limit is 1 lakh, etc.
As for apps, have established their own limits for UPI transactions like Paytm and Amazon Pay UPI have set a daily limit of Rs. 1 lakh, with a total of up to 10 transactions permitted across all UPI apps and bank accounts. However, these limits can vary depending on the banks if you use their UPI application for transactions.

Rationale behind the limits on UPI transactions

Security and Fraud Prevention: By imposing limits, banks can reduce the potential loss in case of unauthorized transactions or account breaches. Limiting transaction amounts helps to detect suspicious activities and prevent large-scale financial fraud.
Customer Protection: Transaction limits serve as a safeguard for customers, ensuring that any fraudulent transactions or errors are contained within a manageable threshold.
Risk Management: Limiting transaction amounts allows banks to monitor and identify unusual patterns or activities more effectively.
Compliance with Regulatory Guidelines: The transaction limits for different types of transactions, ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements.

Growth of UPI

Digital transactions: To compare the amount with May of the previous financial year (2022-23), the volume of transactions has grown by 58%, while the overall value has surged by 37%.
UPI Frauds: However, until February in the financial year 2022-23, the total number of reported UPI frauds had also increased by about 13% in comparison to the previous financial year to 95,402.
However, this was alongside a decline in the fraud-to-sales ratio at 0.0015%. Thus, to combat the growing incidences, there is an imperative need to have safeguard infrastructure in a growing ecosystem.

Atlantic Declaration

Context: The United States and Britain have announced a new strategic pact as their leaders rededicated the “special relationship” to counter Russia, China and economic instability. The leaders (Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak) further concluded that the UK-US relationship was an "indispensable alliance". The leaders acknowledged the importance of the partnership as the U.S.-UK bilateral investment relationship is the largest in the world, with over $1.5 trillion in stock supporting more than 2.7 million jobs in both countries. There was also discussion on current geopolitical crisis and challenges to international stability from authoritarian states such as Russia and the People’s Republic of China; disruptive technologies; non-state actors; and transnational challenges like climate change.

Recent Developments - Atlantic Declaration

An “Atlantic Declaration” was adopted by the leaders aims to boost industry ties on defence and renewable energy, in the face of growing competition from China. This is seen in furtherance of the Atlantic charter that was signed in 1941. The Atlantic Declaration, includes commitments on easing trade barriers, closer defence industry ties and a data protection deal and steps up co-operation on AI.
The Atlantic Declaration sets a new standard for economic cooperation, propelling our economies into the future so we can protect our people, create jobs and grow our economies together
Expansion of subsidies: The Atlantic Declaration includes plans to mitigate some of the impact of US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on the UK economy, with proposals to remove barriers which affected trade in electric vehicle batteries.
Under current policy, the IRA provides tax credit worth $3,750 (£3,000) for each electric vehicle (EV) manufactured in the US, or which use components mined, processed or manufactured in the country. The UK is already a net exporter of raw materials for EV batteries to the US. But nations without a US trade deal are barred from accessing IRA subsidies

Critical mineral Partnership: The Atlantic Declaration commits the UK and US to working on a new critical minerals agreement which would give buyers of vehicles made using critical minerals processed, recycled or mined by UK companies access to tax credits.
Data partnership: The declaration also includes a commitment to a "new UK-US Data Bridge" which would allow UK firms to transfer data freely to certified US organisations without paying a levy. Experts have estimated the change will affect around 55,000 UK businesses and translate close to £100m in direct savings per year.
Emerging Technologies: The leaders recognized the greatest transformations in global economy since the Industrial Revolution with the concrete materialization of AI (Artificial Intelligence).United states also supported UK’s plan to set up an international summit on AI safety.
Focus on Euro-Atlantic and Indo-pacific: The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepen unrivalled defence, security, and intelligence relationship across every theatre in the globe and recognized the indivisibility of security in the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific and other regions.
Indo-Pacific dialogue: Through the U.S.-UK Indo-Pacific Dialogue leaders agreed to continue find new opportunities to coordinate our approaches, to support ASEAN and ASEAN centrality, to partner with the Pacific Islands, to coordinate on economic and technological advancement, and to contribute to regional peace and stability.
Reaffirming faith in NATO: The leaders agreed to continuing strengthen NATO’s ability to deter further attempts to undermine Alliance security, in support of NATO’s new Strategic Concept.