India’s Position in Atomic Energy Production:-
At present India with twenty one (21) nuclear power reactors, stands seventh (7) among thirty one (31) countries with nuclear power in terms of number of reactors and thirteenth (13) in terms of electricity generation.
The present nuclear power installed capacity of 5780 MW is expected to shortly increase to 6780 MW within this financial year with the start of commercial operation of Kudankulam Unit-2 (KKNPP-2) in accordance with stage-wise clearances of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
This unit has already attained first criticality (start of controlled self sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction for the first time) on July 10, 2016. The installed capacity is expected to increase to 10080 MW by the year 2019 on progressive completion of projects under construction.
India has signed nuclear agreements for cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy with Russia, United States of America (USA), France, Australia, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Canada, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. India proposes to sign such an agreement with Japan in future.
Steel industry seeks extension of MIP :-
The steel industry has urged the Centre to continue the minimum import price (MIP) protection scheme to guard against increased imports, user-industries have started protesting against any extension of the scheme.
MIP for Steel Industry:-
- The MIP scheme was introduced in February, 2016 for six months.Post-MIP, the industry has been able to marginally improve its viability after a prolonged period of subdued prices and eroded profit margins
- While MIP cannot possibly be an all-encompassing framework for a complete turnaround of the Indian steel industry, it has provided a cushion against surging imports
- The Indian steel industry does not see MIP as a perpetual protectionist step, but as a necessary temporary measure that will allow time for recovery.
- The accelerating imports at predatory prices from three steel-surplus Asian countries(read China) has been a major concern for the domestic industry since 2014.
- Steel imports, which had peaked in July 2015 registering a 114.6 per cent increase year-on-year, started to decline around November 2015 (when a provisional safeguard duty was imposed). Post-MIP it has dropped in range of 24.6 per cent and 43.1 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal.
Act East Policy
- The Act East Policy (AEP) focuses on the extended neighbourhood in the Asia-Pacific region.
- AEP provides an interface between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.
- The policy which was originally conceived as an economic initiative, has gained political, strategic and cultural dimensions.
- On the domestic front, the Government has taken measures for time bound completion of critical infrastructure projects in the North Eastern Region (NER) relating to road, rail, inland water transport, power, airports and telecom connectivity.
Various Govt. Schemes to Boost Exports:-
(i) The Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) :- It was introduced in the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20 with effect from April 1, 2015. MEIS aims to incentivize export of merchandise which is produced/ manufactured in India.
(ii) Interest Equalisation Scheme on Pre & Post Shipment Rupee Export Credit :- The rate of interest equalisation is 3% per annum.
(iii) Market Access Initiative (MAI) Scheme :- It is an Export Promotion Scheme envisaged to act as a catalyst to promote India’s exports on a sustained basis. The scheme provides assistance to Export Promotion Organizations/Trade Promotion Organizations/National Level Institutions/ Research Institutions /Universities /Laboratories, Exporters etc., for enhancement of exports through accessing new markets or through increasing the share in the existing markets.
(iv) Market Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme is under operation through the Department of Commerce to assist exporters for export promotion activities abroad, assist Export Promotion Councils(EPCs) to undertake export promotion activities for their product(s) and commodities and assist approved organizations/ trade bodies in undertaking exclusive non-recurring innovative activities connected with export promotion efforts for their members.
INDO-US Clean Energy Fund :-
India and the United States of America (USA) will be jointly working for the creation of US $ 20 million for US-India Energy Finance Initiatives, equally supported by the USA and India, which is expected to mobilize up to US $ 400 million to provide finances for clean and renewable electricity by 2020.
Four New Ports Proposed in Country (Can be important for Mapping purposes)
- Enayam in Tamil Nadu,
- Sagar in West Bengal,
- Dugarajpatnam in Andhra Pradesh
- Vadhawan in Maharashtra.
Generations and Journeys – Survey and Findings :- Poor saving habit
A survey by HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited) named ‘Generations and Journeys’ observed that “a large number (47 per cent) of working age people in India have either not started saving for their retirement or have stopped or faced difficulties while saving for their future.”
The report also observed that 21 per cent of the working age population surveyed have not even started saving for retirement.
Household saving has two components—financial saving and physical saving.
Household financial savings consists of their savings in terms of financial assets like bank deposits, shares and debentures, etc.
Household physical saving consists of household construction, their possession of machinery and equipment and valuables, etc.
It is not clear from the published report of the HSBC Survey whether it refers only to the financial savings of the Indian labour force.
The data from the National Accounts reveal that in 2014-15, Indian households saved about 19.1 per cent of the of the Gross domestic product, of which their physical savings consisted of 11.4 percentage points and financial savings consisted of 7.7 percentage points, indicating that Indian households save more in physical form than in financial assets.
The Survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Office during January-December 2013 on Household Assets and Liabilities revealed that about 82.2 per cent of the rural households and 81.1 per cent of the urban households reported possession of bullion and ornaments.
The strong bullion preference of Indian households, along with the generally high inflation and inadequate access to banking and financial channels that prevailed during the last decade, to a great extent, explained the saving behavior of Indian households.
Issues Raised by India in WTO
A declaration was adopted at the Tenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 15 to 19 December 2015.
It comprises six Ministerial Decisions on agriculture, cotton and issues related to least-developed countries (LDCs). These cover an agricultural Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) for developing countries, public stockholding for food security purposes, a commitment to abolish export subsidies for farm exports and measures related to cotton.
The Ministerial Decision relating to Cotton does not prohibit subsidies to the cotton sector and India can continue to provide domestic support to cotton, as per the existing WTO rules and commitments. The Ministerial Decision relating to export competition stipulates that export subsidies to the cotton sector will be eliminated by developed countries immediately and by developing countries with effect from 1 January 2017. Presently export subsidies can be provided by only a few members, mainly developed countries, who had been giving such subsidies and had scheduled the same following the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations. India was not giving such subsidies and had not scheduled them and therefore, does not have such an entitlement. The elimination of export subsidies by developed countries will help the cotton industry in developing countries, including India, to become more competitive.
India negotiated a Ministerial Decision which recognizes that developing countries will have the right to have recourse to an agricultural Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) as envisaged in the mandate of the Doha round of trade negotiations.
Negotiations on the SSM will be held in dedicated sessions and the WTO General Council has to regularly review the progress. The SSM is intended to help developing countries protect their agriculture sector from the effects of import surges.
Impact of MES to China
Apart from ongoing internal assessments, there are studies available which basically postulate on the possible implications of China being granted Market Economy Status(MES).
The WTO did not distinguish between non-market economy and market economies before 1955, when the second paragraph of the addendum to article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was introduced.
The addendum acknowledges that non-market economy policies can introduce price distortions. These distortions can render price comparability between the normal value, determined as the domestic price of a certain good in the export country, and the export price of that same good applied by the exporters of that same country, impossible.
The accurate comparability of these two values is fundamental for calculating the dumping margin and determining applicable dumping duties. The addendum therefore allows importing countries to take into account alternative methodologies if comparing of domestic prices of the exporting country is inappropriate.
The addendum’s alternative approach can be used by any importing country that can prove the exporting country complies with the definition of a Non-Market Economy under the addendum.
The main implication of NME status in anti-dumping proceedings is the possibility to use other methodologies to determine the normal value of the good, instead of using domestic prices to compute the dumping margin.
In general, NME methodologies to calculate normal value have proven to lead to higher anti-dumping duties. In view of these higher duties, and the fact that China faces the highest number of anti-dumping investigations, obtaining earlier recognition of Market Economy Status (MES) has been one of the country’s major foreign policy objectives since 2003.
India also has a large number of anti-dumping investigations against China. Out of the 131 measures in force, 87 measures are against China.
In these investigations, in several cases, China has been considered a Non Market Economy (NME) on account of significant direct or indirect state control in the enterprise or in major operation, raw material and utility supplies, provision of land and transfer of erstwhile State controlled old plants and production units at nominal prices thereby affecting the cost and prices of the goods and services.
Our investigating authorities treat certain Chinese industries, on a case to case basis, as operating under market conditions for the purpose of arriving at the normal values. If China is treated as having a Market Economy Status then the cost and prices of the Chinese Producers would have to be accepted across board, for determination of the normal values and dumping margins.
Under Section 15 of the Chinese WTO Accession Protocol, China can be treated as a non-market economy (NME) in anti-dumping proceedings if Chinese firms cannot prove that they operate under market economy conditions.
China has argued that, according to Section 15(d) of the WTO Accession Protocol, the Section 15 provision allowing for NME methodology expires after 11 December 2016, resulting in a legal obligation to grant MES to China after that date. This interpretation of the section remains highly controversial.
Several countries have granted earlier recognition of MES to China, mainly as a condition for negotiating free trade agreements (FTA) with China.
In addition to India, the main countries which still consider China an NME are the US, Canada, Japan and the European Union (EU).
Bio-Toilets Developed by DRDO
The bacteria from Antarctica are components of anaerobic microbial consortium that is used for seeding (inoculation) of bio-digesters.
The consortium is composed of bacteria belonging to four groups, which work in sequential manner. The Antarctic bacteria which are cold active (work in wide temperature range) constitute the first two groups, i.e. hydrolytic & acidogenic. Cow dung, being abundantly available at low cost, has been used for multiplication of bacteria used in the bio-digester.
The cow dung is used only during multiplication of bacteria in the inoculums generation facility, which is a closed system. Once it is consumed by the bacteria and converted into a form that does not have any fly attractant property and rather detract them. Final bacteria fed into the bio-digester do not have any unpleasant odour and get washed away in the bio-digester within few days. At present, no additional measures are required to prevent them.
Endangered Species
The Government has established a Protected Area (PA) Network (730 PAs including 103 National Parks, 535 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 26 Community Reserves, and 66 Conservation Reserves in different biogeographic regions) towards conservation of threatened (including endangered and vulnerable) species, which primarily covers habitats of threatened megafauna, such as tiger, rhino, elephant, etc.
Biological Diversity Act, 2002, was enacted to ensure protection of threatened species and their habitats. Under the provisions of Section 38 of the National Biodiversity Act, 2002, the species which are on the verge of extinction or likely to become extinct in near future as threatened species, are notified.
The Centrally Sponsored Scheme ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats’ has been modified in 2008-09 by including a new component namely ‘Recovery of Endangered Species’ and 17 species have been identified for recovery viz. Snow Leopard, Bustard (including Floricans), River Dolphin, Hangul, Nilgiri Tahr, Marine Turtles, Dugong & Coral reefs, Edible Nest Swiftlet, Asian Wild Buffalo, Nicobar Megapode, Manipur Brow-antlered Deer, Vultures, Malabar Civet, Indian Rhinoceros, Asiatic Lion, Swamp Deer and Jerdon’s Courser.
The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 has been enacted for protection of wild animals, birds and plants against hunting and commercial exploitation. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been empowered under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to apprehend and prosecute wildlife offenders. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau has been set up for control of poaching and illegal trade in wildlife and its products.
Amendment in Section 309 and 377 of IPC-Decrminalizing suicide
The Law Commission of India, in its 210th Report: “Humanization and Decriminalization of Attempt to Suicide” had recommended that Section 309 (attempt to commit suicide) of IPC needs to be effaced from the statute book.
A draft amendment is presently under examination in the Ministry. As regards Section 377 of IPC, it is stated that pursuant to Curative Petition (Civil) 88-102 of 2014 before the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court referred the matter to a Five Judges Bench and as such the matter is currently sub-judice.
Amendments in the Criminal Justice System is a continuous process in order to make the laws in sync with social changes. The amendments in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) are carried out from time to time based on the recommendations of the Law Commission of India, various Court judgments and the reports of any other committees specially constituted for the purpose.
India’s Indc Targets
Under its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDCs), India has indicated that it will achieve about 40 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030 with the help of transfer of technology and low cost international finance including from Green Climate Fund (GCF). The contributions under INDC have to be achieved by 2030.
India has set renewable power deployment target of 175 GW by the year 2022, which includes 100 GW from solar and 60 GW from wind energy.
Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana
The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in 2016-17. Under the scheme employers would be provided an incentive for enhancing employment by reimbursement of the 8.33% EPS contribution made by the employer in respect of new employment.
The PMRPY scheme is targeted for workers earning wages upto Rs. 15,000/- per month. Publicity and awareness campaign is an integral component of the PMRPY scheme for encouraging employers including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to avail benefits.
Buddhist remains unearthed in A.P.
- Buddhist remains on a mound called ‘Ernamma Pallu Dibba’ were unearthed in Krishna district.
- These remains, basing on the style of art and architecture are datable to the 3rd Century AD — i.e., Ikshwaku times.
- The inscription issued by Upasika Bodhisiri, wife of a mariner, mentioned that she built a stone-pillared pavilion at Ghantasala for the benefit of the devotees visiting the mahastupa
Amendments to the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
The maternity benefit Act 1961 protects the employment of women during the time of her maternity and entitles her of a ‘maternity benefit’ – i.e. full paid absence from work – to take care for her child. The act is applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more persons. The amendments will help 1.8 million (approx.) women workforce in organised sector.
The amendments to Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 are as follows:
• Increase Maternity Benefit from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for two surviving children and 12 weeks for more than two children.
• 12 weeks Maternity Benefit to a ‘Commissioning mother’ and ‘Adopting mother’.
• Facilitate ‘Work from home’. • Mandatory provision of Creche in respect of establishment having 50 or more employees.
Justification:
• Maternal care to the Child during early childhood – crucial for growth and development of the child.
• The 44th, 45th and 46th Indian Labour Conference recommended enhancement of Maternity Benefits to 24 weeks.
• Ministry of Women & Child Development proposed to enhance Maternity Benefit to 8 months.
• In Tripartite consultations, all stake holders, in general supported the amendment proposal.
Technology Acquisition and Development Fund
- To provide funding support to SMEs for the acquisition and development of clean and green technology.
- The Scheme is applicable to all existing and new Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) including those in the National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs) in respect of their investments made after notification of the Scheme.
‘State of ICT in Asia and the Pacific 2016: Uncovering the Widening Broadband Divide’.
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in its report, has placed India at 39th position in terms of fixed broadband adoption among Asia Pacific countries. The report is named- ‘State of ICT in Asia and the Pacific 2016: Uncovering the Widening Broadband Divide’.
- According to the report, 1.3% of population in India subscribed to fixed broadband service in 2015.
- Fixed broadband penetration in Asia and the Pacific is even below the world’s average of 11.2 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in 2015.
- India ranks lower than countries such as Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in ESCAP countries in 2015.
U.S. set to hand over Internet’s naming system to ICANN
The U.S. will give up its power fully to Los Angeles-based ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), a non-profit organisation.The terms of the change were agreed upon in 2014, but it was not until now that the U.S. said it was finally satisfied that ICANN was ready to make the change.
DNS:The Domain Naming System, DNS, is one of the Internet’s most important components. It pairs the easy-to-remember web addresses with their relevant servers. Without DNS, one would only be able to access websites by typing in its IP address.
Internet Corporation Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN):
ICANN is the global body that oversees operation and administration of the Internet domain name system. It was formed in 1998.It is a not-for-profit partnership of people from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet’s unique identifiers.
ICANN doesn’t control content on the Internet. It cannot stop spam and it doesn’t deal with access to the Internet. But through its coordination role of the Internet’s naming system, it does have an important impact on the expansion and evolution of the Internet.
It is responsible for coordinating the maintenance and methodologies of several databases, with unique identifiers, related to the namespaces of the Internet – and thereby, ensuring the network’s stable and secure operation.
ICANN is governed by an internationally diverse Board of Directors overseeing the policy development process. ICANN’s President directs an international staff, working from three continents, who ensure that ICANN meets its operational commitment to the Internet community.
Global Innovation Index: India moves up to 66th rank this year
The annual index — released by WIPO, Cornell University, and the multi-nation business graduate school INSEAD — has been ranking world economies since 2007 according to their innovation capabilities using more than 80 indicators, including education, R&D, patent filings, knowledge and technology inputs and institutions.
Highlights:
- India scored a major improvement in its Global Innovation Index ranking this year, moving up to the 66th place from 81 in 2015. India’s better performance in the latest index readings was due to its strengths in tertiary education, software exports, corporate R&D and market sophistication.
- The report said India was starting to excel in ICT and creative goods exports, setting a good example of how policy was improving the innovation environment.
- In the infrastructure indicator, India has stayed put in the 87th rank, not having progressed in the use of information technology.
- Overall, Switzerland emerged as the global leader followed by Sweden, the UK, the US and Finland. Switzerland had ranked first in the 2015 index as well.
ICHR plans encyclopedia of village folklore from across India
ICHR is planning a mammoth encyclopedia of Indian villages complete with its heroes, myth, ballads and history as well as histories of princely states.This initiative aims to connect people better with the oral and folk traditions.
Along with this, ICHR is also planning to conduct a study of the princely States of modern India and studies to fill the gaps between the Harappan civilisation and the 6 century BC. The idea behind doing the history of princely states is to showcase their contribution and how Indian culture was protected by them.
According to historians, the present generations are gradually delinking themselves from their cultural heritage. Hence, they think it’s their responsibility to collect, preserve and transmit this knowledge of history for the generations to come.
The students of history will be taken as apprentices, as barefoot historians, and will be encouraged to collect information of the villages around them. For these projects, the ICHR would seek part funding by corporate houses.
Tirot Sing’s Contribution to Freedom Struggle
Tirot Sing was one of the greatest freedom fighters to hail from the northeast. In the attempt to prevent the Khasi Hills from falling into colonial hands, Tirot Sing, a Khasi chief, had raised the battle cry against the invasive British forces on April 4, 1829, but was eventually captured and defeated. He died in captivity in Dhaka in 1835.
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On March 31, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released its annual Gender Gap Report 2021. The Global Gender Gap report is an annual report released by the WEF. The gender gap is the difference between women and men as reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, or economic attainments or attitudes. The gap between men and women across health, education, politics, and economics widened for the first time since records began in 2006.
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]No need to remember all the data, only pick out few important ones to use in your answers.
The Global gender gap index aims to measure this gap in four key areas : health, education, economics, and politics. It surveys economies to measure gender disparity by collating and analyzing data that fall under four indices : economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
The 2021 Global Gender Gap Index benchmarks 156 countries on their progress towards gender parity. The index aims to serve as a compass to track progress on relative gaps between women and men in health, education, economy, and politics.
Although no country has achieved full gender parity, the top two countries (Iceland and Finland) have closed at least 85% of their gap, and the remaining seven countries (Lithuania, Namibia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Rwanda, and Ireland) have closed at least 80% of their gap. Geographically, the global top 10 continues to be dominated by Nordic countries, with —Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden—in the top five.
The top 10 is completed by one country from Asia Pacific (New Zealand 4th), two Sub-Saharan countries (Namibia, 6th and Rwanda, 7th, one country from Eastern Europe (the new entrant to the top 10, Lithuania, 8th), and another two Western European countries (Ireland, 9th, and Switzerland, 10th, another country in the top-10 for the first time).There is a relatively equitable distribution of available income, resources, and opportunities for men and women in these countries. The tremendous gender gaps are identified primarily in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.
Here, we can discuss the overall global gender gap scores across the index’s four main components : Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment.
The indicators of the four main components are
(1) Economic Participation and Opportunity:
o Labour force participation rate,
o wage equality for similar work,
o estimated earned income,
o Legislators, senior officials, and managers,
o Professional and technical workers.
(2) Educational Attainment:
o Literacy rate (%)
o Enrollment in primary education (%)
o Enrollment in secondary education (%)
o Enrollment in tertiary education (%).
(3) Health and Survival:
o Sex ratio at birth (%)
o Healthy life expectancy (years).
(4) Political Empowerment:
o Women in Parliament (%)
o Women in Ministerial positions (%)
o Years with a female head of State (last 50 years)
o The share of tenure years.
The objective is to shed light on which factors are driving the overall average decline in the global gender gap score. The analysis results show that this year’s decline is mainly caused by a reversal in performance on the Political Empowerment gap.
Global Trends and Outcomes:
– Globally, this year, i.e., 2021, the average distance completed to gender parity gap is 68% (This means that the remaining gender gap to close stands at 32%) a step back compared to 2020 (-0.6 percentage points). These figures are mainly driven by a decline in the performance of large countries. On its current trajectory, it will now take 135.6 years to close the gender gap worldwide.
– The gender gap in Political Empowerment remains the largest of the four gaps tracked, with only 22% closed to date, having further widened since the 2020 edition of the report by 2.4 percentage points. Across the 156 countries covered by the index, women represent only 26.1% of some 35,500 Parliament seats and 22.6% of over 3,400 Ministers worldwide. In 81 countries, there has never been a woman head of State as of January 15, 2021. At the current rate of progress, the World Economic Forum estimates that it will take 145.5 years to attain gender parity in politics.
– The gender gap in Economic Participation and Opportunity remains the second-largest of the four key gaps tracked by the index. According to this year’s index results, 58% of this gap has been closed so far. The gap has seen marginal improvement since the 2020 edition of the report, and as a result, we estimate that it will take another 267.6 years to close.
– Gender gaps in Educational Attainment and Health and Survival are nearly closed. In Educational Attainment, 95% of this gender gap has been closed globally, with 37 countries already attaining gender parity. However, the ‘last mile’ of progress is proceeding slowly. The index estimates that it will take another 14.2 years to close this gap on its current trajectory completely.
In Health and Survival, 96% of this gender gap has been closed, registering a marginal decline since last year (not due to COVID-19), and the time to close this gap remains undefined. For both education and health, while progress is higher than economy and politics in the global data, there are important future implications of disruptions due to the pandemic and continued variations in quality across income, geography, race, and ethnicity.
India-Specific Findings:
India had slipped 28 spots to rank 140 out of the 156 countries covered. The pandemic causing a disproportionate impact on women jeopardizes rolling back the little progress made in the last decades-forcing more women to drop off the workforce and leaving them vulnerable to domestic violence.
India’s poor performance on the Global Gender Gap report card hints at a serious wake-up call and learning lessons from the Nordic region for the Government and policy makers.
Within the 156 countries covered, women hold only 26 percent of Parliamentary seats and 22 percent of Ministerial positions. India, in some ways, reflects this widening gap, where the number of Ministers declined from 23.1 percent in 2019 to 9.1 percent in 2021. The number of women in Parliament stands low at 14.4 percent. In India, the gender gap has widened to 62.5 %, down from 66.8% the previous year.
It is mainly due to women’s inadequate representation in politics, technical and leadership roles, a decrease in women’s labor force participation rate, poor healthcare, lagging female to male literacy ratio, and income inequality.
The gap is the widest on the political empowerment dimension, with economic participation and opportunity being next in line. However, the gap on educational attainment and health and survival has been practically bridged.
India is the third-worst performer among South Asian countries, with Pakistan and Afghanistan trailing and Bangladesh being at the top. The report states that the country fared the worst in political empowerment, regressing from 23.9% to 9.1%.
Its ranking on the health and survival dimension is among the five worst performers. The economic participation and opportunity gap saw a decline of 3% compared to 2020, while India’s educational attainment front is in the 114th position.
India has deteriorated to 51st place from 18th place in 2020 on political empowerment. Still, it has slipped to 155th position from 150th position in 2020 on health and survival, 151st place in economic participation and opportunity from 149th place, and 114th place for educational attainment from 112th.
In 2020 reports, among the 153 countries studied, India is the only country where the economic gender gap of 64.6% is larger than the political gender gap of 58.9%. In 2021 report, among the 156 countries, the economic gender gap of India is 67.4%, 3.8% gender gap in education, 6.3% gap in health and survival, and 72.4% gender gap in political empowerment. In health and survival, the gender gap of the sex ratio at birth is above 9.1%, and healthy life expectancy is almost the same.
Discrimination against women has also been reflected in Health and Survival subindex statistics. With 93.7% of this gap closed to date, India ranks among the bottom five countries in this subindex. The wide sex ratio at birth gaps is due to the high incidence of gender-based sex-selective practices. Besides, more than one in four women has faced intimate violence in her lifetime.The gender gap in the literacy rate is above 20.1%.
Yet, gender gaps persist in literacy : one-third of women are illiterate (34.2%) than 17.6% of men. In political empowerment, globally, women in Parliament is at 128th position and gender gap of 83.2%, and 90% gap in a Ministerial position. The gap in wages equality for similar work is above 51.8%. On health and survival, four large countries Pakistan, India, Vietnam, and China, fare poorly, with millions of women there not getting the same access to health as men.
The pandemic has only slowed down in its tracks the progress India was making towards achieving gender parity. The country urgently needs to focus on “health and survival,” which points towards a skewed sex ratio because of the high incidence of gender-based sex-selective practices and women’s economic participation. Women’s labour force participation rate and the share of women in technical roles declined in 2020, reducing the estimated earned income of women, one-fifth of men.
Learning from the Nordic region, noteworthy participation of women in politics, institutions, and public life is the catalyst for transformational change. Women need to be equal participants in the labour force to pioneer the societal changes the world needs in this integral period of transition.
Every effort must be directed towards achieving gender parallelism by facilitating women in leadership and decision-making positions. Social protection programmes should be gender-responsive and account for the differential needs of women and girls. Research and scientific literature also provide unequivocal evidence that countries led by women are dealing with the pandemic more effectively than many others.
Gendered inequality, thereby, is a global concern. India should focus on targeted policies and earmarked public and private investments in care and equalized access. Women are not ready to wait for another century for equality. It’s time India accelerates its efforts and fight for an inclusive, equal, global recovery.
India will not fully develop unless both women and men are equally supported to reach their full potential. There are risks, violations, and vulnerabilities women face just because they are women. Most of these risks are directly linked to women’s economic, political, social, and cultural disadvantages in their daily lives. It becomes acute during crises and disasters.
With the prevalence of gender discrimination, and social norms and practices, women become exposed to the possibility of child marriage, teenage pregnancy, child domestic work, poor education and health, sexual abuse, exploitation, and violence. Many of these manifestations will not change unless women are valued more.
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]2021 WEF Global Gender Gap report, which confirmed its 2016 finding of a decline in worldwide progress towards gender parity.
Over 2.8 billion women are legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men. As many as 104 countries still have laws preventing women from working in specific jobs, 59 countries have no laws on sexual harassment in the workplace, and it is astonishing that a handful of countries still allow husbands to legally stop their wives from working.
Globally, women’s participation in the labour force is estimated at 63% (as against 94% of men who participate), but India’s is at a dismal 25% or so currently. Most women are in informal and vulnerable employment—domestic help, agriculture, etc—and are always paid less than men.
Recent reports from Assam suggest that women workers in plantations are paid much less than men and never promoted to supervisory roles. The gender wage gap is about 24% globally, and women have lost far more jobs than men during lockdowns.
The problem of gender disparity is compounded by hurdles put up by governments, society and businesses: unequal access to social security schemes, banking services, education, digital services and so on, even as a glass ceiling has kept leadership roles out of women’s reach.
Yes, many governments and businesses had been working on parity before the pandemic struck. But the global gender gap, defined by differences reflected in the social, political, intellectual, cultural and economic attainments or attitudes of men and women, will not narrow in the near future without all major stakeholders working together on a clear agenda—that of economic growth by inclusion.
The WEF report estimates 135 years to close the gap at our current rate of progress based on four pillars: educational attainment, health, economic participation and political empowerment.
India has slipped from rank 112 to 140 in a single year, confirming how hard women were hit by the pandemic. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two Asian countries that fared worse.
Here are a few things we must do:
One, frame policies for equal-opportunity employment. Use technology and artificial intelligence to eliminate biases of gender, caste, etc, and select candidates at all levels on merit. Numerous surveys indicate that women in general have a better chance of landing jobs if their gender is not known to recruiters.
Two, foster a culture of gender sensitivity. Take a review of current policies and move from gender-neutral to gender-sensitive. Encourage and insist on diversity and inclusion at all levels, and promote more women internally to leadership roles. Demolish silos to let women grab potential opportunities in hitherto male-dominant roles. Work-from-home has taught us how efficiently women can manage flex-timings and productivity.
Three, deploy corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for the education and skilling of women and girls at the bottom of the pyramid. CSR allocations to toilet building, the PM-Cares fund and firms’ own trusts could be re-channelled for this.
Four, get more women into research and development (R&D) roles. A study of over 4,000 companies found that more women in R&D jobs resulted in radical innovation. It appears women score far higher than men in championing change. If you seek growth from affordable products and services for low-income groups, women often have the best ideas.
Five, break barriers to allow progress. Cultural and structural issues must be fixed. Unconscious biases and discrimination are rampant even in highly-esteemed organizations. Establish fair and transparent human resource policies.
Six, get involved in local communities to engage them. As Michael Porter said, it is not possible for businesses to sustain long-term shareholder value without ensuring the welfare of the communities they exist in. It is in the best interest of enterprises to engage with local communities to understand and work towards lowering cultural and other barriers in society. It will also help connect with potential customers, employees and special interest groups driving the gender-equity agenda and achieve better diversity.