India Strengthens Global Food Security
Context: Recently, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the supply of rice in support of global humanitarian operations aimed at combating hunger.
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- Under the MoU, FCI will supply 200,000 metric tonnes of rice (up to 25% broken) to WFP.
- The MoU will be valid for a period of five years from the date of signing and may be extended by mutual consent.
- The price will be mutually agreed on an annual basis, with the current price fixed at ₹2,800 per quintal up to 31 March 2026.
- This agreement showcases India’s resolve to ensure no one goes hungry.
About Food Corporation of India (FCI)
- The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is a premier statutory body established on January 14, 1965, under the Food Corporations Act 1964.
- It functions under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
- FCI is responsible for the procurement, storage, and distribution of food grains and other essential commodities. This mission reflects the core values of equity, access, and inclusiveness as we strive to provide affordable and quality food to all citizens.
- The Food Corporation of India (FCI) headquarters is located in New Delhi.
About the World Food Programme (WFP)
- The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
- The WFP was established in 1961 as a joint venture between the United Nations General Assembly (Resolution 1714) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (Resolution 1/61).
- It is headquartered in Rome, Italy, within the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
- WFP received the Nobel Peace Prize (2020) for its efforts to combat hunger and improve conditions for peace.
India Grids of the Future Accelerator Launched
Context: The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) launched the India Grids of the Future Accelerator at Mumbai Climate Week 2026.
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- The Alliance plans to deploy up to 25 million dollars by 2028, with an ambition to mobilise 100 million dollars by 2030 through public and private investment.
- The funding will modernise power distribution systems and integrate renewable energy and storage while preparing India’s grids for rapid demand growth.
- The platform is supported by the All India DISCOM Association and the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
- Distribution companies in Delhi and Rajasthan were designated as the first cohort of “Champion Utilities” under the initiative.
- The event also marked the launch of ENTICE 3.0, which is the latest edition of the Energy Transitions Innovation Challenge.
- The 3.0 edition focuses heavily on energy storage, grid digitalization, and non-lithium storage solutions to support faster planning and renewable energy integration.
Key Features of the India Grids of the Future Accelerator
- The initiative seeks to transform India’s grid through a structured D4 framework.
- The framework drives digitalisation (D1) of utilities through digital twins and advanced analytics.
- The framework enables smarter integration of distributed energy resources (D2), including renewable energy and storage.
- The framework promotes democratisation (D3) of electricity by empowering consumers to participate actively in the energy system.
- The framework advances the development (D4) of a strong innovation ecosystem to scale future-ready solutions.
- Through this integrated approach, the initiative aims to support 15 or more utilities, positively impacting nearly 300 million people across India by 2030.
- The platform plans a three year 100 million dollar fundraising effort from 2026 to 2028 to unlock large-scale public and private investment.
About Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP)
- The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) is a global collaborative platform launched at COP26 in 2021.
- The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet works to tackle energy poverty and the climate crisis by developing and scaling innovative green energy solutions in developing and emerging economies.
- The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) is headquartered in New York City.
India to Expand its AI Compute Capacity
Context: Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology announced at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 that India will scale its compute capacity beyond the existing 38,000 GPUs with the addition of 20,000 GPUs.
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- The Union Minister highlighted that the focus remains on responsible AI development and wider deployment across sectors such as healthcare and education to ensure that AI benefits all.
- Unlike many other countries where AI infrastructure is controlled by a few companies, India has provided AI compute access to a wide section of its population.
- Users do not need to be physically near these locations to use the power. Startups, researchers, and students access this distributed “supercluster” virtually through the IndiaAI Compute Portal.
- Under the IndiaAI Mission, the existing 38,000-plus high-end GPUs have been made available at ₹65 per hour (vs market ₹300-500/hour), lowering compute barriers for startups, researchers, students and public institutions.
- India’s planned expansion of 58,000 GPU target positions it among the top 10 sovereign AI compute nations globally.
About Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)
- A graphics processing unit (graphical processing unit, GPU) is an electronic circuit designed to speed computer graphics and image processing on various devices. These devices include video cards, system boards, mobile phones and personal computers (PCs).
- Before the invention of GPUs in the 1990s, graphics controllers in PCs and on video game controllers relied on a computer’s central processing unit (CPU) to run tasks.
- Unlike a standard processor (CPU), which handles complex tasks one by one, a GPU is built for parallel processing, meaning it can perform thousands of simple, repetitive calculations at the same time.
- GPUs are essential for training AI models and handling complex datasets, and are a key pillar of India’s digital growth strategy.
VoicERA Launched on the BHASHINI National Infrastructure
Context: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched VoicERA, an open-source, end-to-end Voice AI stack, at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi.
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- The launch was led by Digital India BHASHINI Division with EkStep Foundation, in collaboration with COSS, IIIT Bengaluru, and AI4Bharat.
- The platform was deployed on the BHASHINI National Language Infrastructure as a national execution layer for multilingual Voice and Language AI.
About VoicERA and Its Architecture
- The platform is designed as an open-source, end-to-end Voice AI stack that is open, pluggable, interoperable, cloud-deployable and on-premise ready.
- The architecture modularises the voice stack and reduces duplication of effort while eliminating vendor lock-in.
- The system enables secure and scalable deployment of voice systems across government departments, research institutions and innovation ecosystems.
- The integration expands BHASHINI from translation and language tools to real-time speech systems, conversational AI and multilingual telephony at the population scale.
Significance for Digital Public Infrastructure
- The initiative strengthens India’s Digital Public Infrastructure by positioning voice as a natural interface for citizen services.
- The framework enables departments to onboard voice-enabled services in agriculture advisories, education support, livelihood services, grievance redressal, citizen feedback and scheme discovery.
- The platform supports interoperable and secure AI systems that enhance inclusive access to public services across sectors and geographies.