Short News
Short News
Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB)
- Context (DTE): Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB) could mitigate Super El Niño intensity and curb associated global climate disruptions.
- It works by disrupting Bjerknes feedback, halting positive loops between Pacific sea surface temperatures and trade winds.
- As a Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) geoengineering method, MCB sprays fine seawater droplets into low-altitude marine skies.
- Evaporated droplets leave sea salt aerosols as Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN), boosting cloud albedo to cool oceans.
World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO)
- Context (FP): China launched the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) in Shanghai as an independent intergovernmental body.
- It unites 29 founding nations—predominantly from the Global South—to advance inclusive AI governance and digital sovereignty.
- To boost capacity, China offers 5,000 AI training slots and joint hubs with BRICS, ASEAN, and African Union.
- WAICO promotes open-source AI models to establish an alternative ecosystem to Western platforms like ChatGPT and Claude.
Investment Friendliness Index (IFI)
- Context (PIB): NITI Aayog introduced the Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) to benchmark subnational reform efforts toward Viksit Bharat @2047.
- It assesses all 36 States and UTs across eight pillars, incorporating infrastructure, regulatory ease, and investor perception.
- Grouped into four performance cohorts, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu secured top ranks scoring above 50.
- Promoting competitive federalism, the index highlights regional FDI concentration and the need for higher private capital expenditure.