State of the World Population 2020: UNFPA

Why in News

Recently, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has released the State of the World Population 2020 report, titled ‘Against my will: defying the practices that harm women and girls and undermine equality’.

• It highlights at least 19 human rights violations against women and focuses on the three most prevalent ones, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), extreme bias against daughters, in favour of sons and child marriage.

Key Points

• Global Data:
  
  • The number of missing women has more than doubled over the past 50 years, who were at 61 million in 1970.
    
    • Missing females/women: These are women missing from the population at given dates due to the cumulative effect of postnatal and prenatal sex selection in the past. The phrase was coined by Amartya Sen.
  • In Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan excess female mortality of girls below 5 years of age was under 3%.
    
    • Excess female mortality: It is the difference between observed and expected mortality of the girl child or avoidable death of girls during childhood.
  • According to estimates averaged over a five year period (2013-17), annually, there were 1.2 million missing female births, at a global level.
• India Specific Data:
  
  • One in three girls missing globally due to sex selection, both pre- and post-natal, is from India, i.e. 46 million out of the total 142 million.
  • India has the highest rate of excess female deaths at 13.5 per 1,000 female births or one in nine deaths of females below the age of 5 due to postnatal sex selection.
  • In India, around 460,000 girls went missing at birth, which means they were not born due to sex-selection biases, each year between 2013 and 2017.
  • India (40%) along with China (50%) account for around 90% of the estimated 1.2 million girls lost annually to female foeticide.
• Female Genital Mutilation:
  
  • It involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
  • The practise has no health benefits for girls and women and can cause severe bleeding, problems in urinating, cysts, infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.
  • An estimated 4.1 million girls will be subjected to female genital mutilation in 2020.
• Extreme Bias against Daughters, in favour of sons:
  
  • An extreme and continuing preference for sons over daughters in some countries has fuelled gender-biased sex selection or extreme neglect which leads to girls’ death as children, resulting in missing females.
    
    • The report examines the issue of missing women by studying sex ratio imbalances at birth as a result of gender-biased sex selection as well as excess female mortality.
  • The advent of technology and increased access to ultrasound imaging allow parents to terminate a foetus after knowing its gender.
    
    • Due to this, the number of girls missing due to female foeticide exceed those that are missing because of postnatal sex selection.
  • These skewed numbers change the population proportions and result in ‘marriage squeeze’.
    
    • Marriage squeeze: It happens when prospective grooms far outnumber prospective brides, which further results in human trafficking for marriage as well as child marriages.
  • These violations result in fewer choices for females and putting them under the sexual, economic and legal control of men, curbing their human rights.
• Child Marriage:
  
  • Every day, around 33,000 girls under age 18 are forced into marriage, usually to much older men.
  • In India, child marriage is directly linked to poverty, poor education and geographic location and the rural and urban divide.
• Covid-19 Induced Challenges:
  
  • The economic disruptions and income-loss because of the Covid-19 pandemic are likely to increase violence against girls and women due to intensified unwantedness of daughters and gender discrimination.
  • The Covid-19 pandemic threatens to reverse the progress made in ending some harmful practices worldwide.
  • In India, Covid-19 has reduced access to contraception and abortion services, which is likely to lead to an increase in unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions.
• Initiatives Appreciated:
  
  • The report pointed out that successful education-related interventions include the provision of cash transfers conditional on school attendance or support to cover the costs of school fees, books, uniforms and supplies.
  • The report took note of the successful cash-transfer initiative such as ‘Apni Beti Apna Dhan’ in India.

Way Forward

• The problem should be tackled by eliminating the root causes, especially gender-biased norms.
• People must foster respect for women and girls, by changing attitudes and practices that commoditize them.
• People must protect women and girls by enforcing laws against practices like child marriage and female mutilation and also by changing attitudes and norms.
• Governments must fulfil their obligations under human rights treaties that require the elimination of these practices and rituals.
  
  • Countries that have ratified international treaties such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, have a duty to end the harm, whether it’s inflicted on girls by family members, religious communities, health-care providers, commercial enterprises or State institutions themselves.

Source: TH

National Mission for Clean Ganga

Why in News

Recently, the World Bank has approved a five year loan (for the second phase) to the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) or Namami Gange Project worth Rs.3,000 crore to help stem pollution in the Ganga river basin.

• So far, 313 projects worth Rs. 25,000 crore have been sanctioned under the mission.

Key Points

• The First Phase: The Namami Gange has already received Rs. 4,535 crore from the World Bank as part of the first phase (valid until December 2021) of the National Ganga River Basin.
• The Second Phase:
  
  • Hybrid Annuity Projects: The loan would fund three new ‘Hybrid Annuity Projects’ in Agra, Meerut and Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh for the tributaries of the Ganga.
  • Cleaning Projects: Some of the projects include spillover projects from the first phase of the mission as well cleaning projects in tributaries such as the Yamuna and Kali rivers.
  • DBOT Projects: Rs.1,209 crore is provided for the ongoing DBOT (Design, Build, Operate and Transfer) projects in Buxar, Munger, Begusarai in Bihar.
  • Other Initiatives: It would include institutional development, improving investment resilience to Covid-19 like emergency situations, performance based incentive for Urban Local Bodies and communication and management programmes.
• Associated Challenges:
  
  • Pollution:
    
    • Most of the Ganga is polluted and it is due to presence of five states on the river’s main stem i.e. Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.
    • Industrial pollution from tanneries in Kanpur, distilleries, paper and sugar mills in the Kosi, Ramganga and Kali river catchments are major contributors.
  • Violation of e-Flow Norms: According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), 4 of the 11 hydro power projects on the upper reaches of the river Ganga’s tributaries are violating Ganga ecological flow (e-flow) norms which is further interrupting the natural flow of the river.
  • Illegal Construction: The problem of illegal and rampant construction near river beds has become a major hurdle in cleaning the river.
  • Poor Governance: There is less utilisation of funds allotted under the programmes due to lack of monitoring and superviison.

Other Initiatives Taken

• Ganga Action Plan: It was the first River Action Plan that was taken up by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 1985, to improve the water quality by the interception, diversion, and treatment of domestic sewage.
  
  • The National River Conservation Plan is an extension to the Ganga Action Plan. It aims at cleaning the Ganga river under Ganga Action Plan phase-2.
• National River Ganga Basin Authority (NRGBA): It was formed by the Government of India in the year 2009 under Section-3 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
  
  • It declared the Ganga as the ‘National River’ of India.
• Clean Ganga Fund: In 2014, it was formed for cleaning up of the Ganga, setting up of waste treatment plants, and conservation of biotic diversity of the river.
• Bhuvan-Ganga Web App: It ensures involvement of the public in monitoring of pollution entering into the river Ganga.
• Ban on Waste Disposal: In 2017, the National Green Tribunal banned the disposal of any waste in the Ganga.

Way Forward

• The government’s Namami Gange Programme has revitalised India’s efforts in rejuvenating the Ganga.
• In this line, the first World Bank loan has helped build critical sewage infrastructure in 20 pollution hotspots along the river and the current funding would help in cleaning of the tributaries of Ganga.
• It will further aid the government to strengthen the institutions needed to manage a river basin as large as the Ganga Basin.
• In order to successfully implement the plan there is a need for a strategic blueprint that includes the strict monitoring, mass awareness campaigns, use of digital media and conservation of biodiversity in Ganga.

Source: TH

Core Sector Shrinks by 23.4%

Why in News

According to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the eight core sector industries contracted by 23.4% in May, 2020.

• In April 2020 the eight core sectors had contracted by 37%.
• In May 2019 the eight core sectors had grown by 3.8%.

Key Points

• Core Sector Data: Except fertiliser, all seven sectors — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement, and electricity — had recorded negative growth in May.
  
  • The fertiliser production showed growth at 7.5% after two consecutive months of contraction.
  • The steel and cement showed a shrinkage of 48.4% and 22.2% respectively.
• Reason: The main reason for contraction was factories remained affected by a lack of labour and cash shortages owing to the nationwide lockdown.
• Impact: Experts are of the opinion that aftershocks of the lockdown will continue to affect domestic industry in coming months.
  
  • They will see a lower but certain contraction.

Core Sector Industries

• The eight core sector industries include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity
• These comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
• The eight Core Industries in decreasing order of their weightage: Refinery Products> Electricity> Steel> Coal> Crude Oil> Natural Gas> Cement> Fertilizers.

Industry	Weight (In percentage)
Petroleum & Refinery production	28.04
Electricity generation	19.85
Steel production	17.92
Coal production	10.33
Crude Oil production	8.98
Natural Gas production	6.88
Cement production	5.37
Fertilizers production	2.63

Index of Industrial Production

• The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an indicator that measures the changes in the volume of production of industrial products during a given period.
• It is compiled and published monthly by the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
• IIP is a composite indicator that measures the growth rate of industry groups classified under:
  
  • Broad sectors, namely, Mining, Manufacturing, and Electricity.
  • Use-based sectors, namely Basic Goods, Capital Goods, and Intermediate Goods.
• Base Year for IIP is 2011-2012.
• Significance of IIP:
  
  • It is used by government agencies including the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of India, etc, for policy-making purposes.
  • IIP remains extremely relevant for the calculation of the quarterly and advance GDP estimates.

Source: TH

Committee on Criminal Law Reform

Why in News

Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted a national level committee for reform in criminal law.

Key Points

• Committee For Reform In Criminal Law:
  
  • The committee has been constituted under Ranbir Singh and several other members.
  • The committee would be gathering opinions online by consulting with experts and collating material for their report to the government.
  • The consultation exercise would start on 4^th July 2020 and go on for the next three months.
• Background of Criminal Justice System:
  
  • The codification of criminal laws in India was done during the British rule, which more or less remains the same even in the 21^st century.
  • Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay is said to be the chief architect of codifications of criminal laws in India.
  • Criminal law in India is governed by Indian Penal Code, 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and Indian Evidence Act, 1872, etc.
• Need for Reforms:
  
  • Colonial Era Laws: The criminal justice system is a replica of the British colonial jurisprudence, which was designed with the purpose of ruling the nation and not serving the citizens.
  • Ineffectiveness: The purpose of the criminal justice system was to protect the rights of the innocents and punish the guilty, but nowadays the system has become a tool of harassment of common people.
  • Pendency of Cases: According to Economic Survey 2018-19, there are about 3.5 crore cases pending in the judicial system, especially in district and subordinate courts, which leads to actualisation of the maxim “Justice delayed is justice denied.”
  • Huge Undertrials: India has one of the world’s largest number of undertrial prisoners.
    
    • According to NCRB -Prison Statistics India (2015), 67.2% of our total prison population comprises undertrial prisoners.
  • Investigation: Corruption, huge workload and accountability of police is a major hurdle in speedy and transparent delivery of justice.
  • Madhav Menon Committee: It submitted its report in 2007, suggesting various recommendations on reforms in the CJSI.
  • Malimath Committee Report: It submitted its report in 2003 on the Criminal Justice System of India (CJSI).
    
    • The Committee had opined that the existing system “weighed in favour of the accused and did not adequately focus on justice to the victims of crime.”
    • It has provided various recommendations to be made in the CJSI, which were not implemented.

Suggestions for Reforms

• Criminal law is considered to be the most apparent expression of the relationship between a state and its citizens. Therefore, any revision to the CJSI needs to be done while keeping several principles in mind, which are:
  
  • The reason for victimization ought to be given a major thrust in reforming laws to identify the rights of crime victims.
    
    • For Example: Launch of victim and witness protection schemes, use of victim impact statements, increased victim participation in criminal trials, enhanced access of victims to compensation and restitution.
  • The construction of new offences and reworking of the existing classification of offences must be guided by the principles of criminal jurisprudence which have substantially altered in the past four decades.
    
    • For Example: Criminal liability could be graded better to assign the degree of punishments. New types of punishments like community service orders, restitution orders, and other aspects of restorative and reformative justice could also be brought in its fold.
  • The classification of offences must be done in a manner conducive to management of crimes in the future.
    
    • Many chapters of the IPC are overloaded at several places. The chapters on offences against public servants, contempt of authority, public tranquility, and trespass can be redefined and narrowed.
  • Guiding principles need to be developed after sufficient debate before criminalising an act as a crime.
    
    • Unprincipled criminalisation not only leads to the creation of new offences on unscientific grounds, but also arbitrariness in the criminal justice system.
  • The discretion of judges in deciding the quantum and nature of sentence differently for crimes of the same nature should be based on principles of judicial precedent.

Way Forward

• India needs to draft a clear policy that should inform the changes to be envisaged in the existing criminal laws.
• It also needs to make simultaneous improvements in the police, prosecution, judiciary and in prisons.
• The focus of reform should be on reformative justice in order to bring all around peace in the society.

Source: TH

Online Education

Why in News

Recently, the Central government has proposed long-term measures to address social inequities in online education, as highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

• The measures include plans to distribute laptops or tablets to 40% of all college and university students over the next five years and to equip all government schools with Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
• Earlier in April 2020, the Centre had announced to start the 2020-21 academic year virtually.

Key Points

• Facilitation of Online Education:
  
  • Providing Laptops and Tablets:
    
    • Providing these devices to 4.06 crore students (40% of the projected student population) by 2026, at a total cost of Rs. 60,900 crore.
    • The Centre and States will share the cost in a 60:40 ratio.
  • Installing ICT Facilities:
    
    • The Ministry of Human Resource Development proposes to spend Rs. 2,306 crore on developing and translating digital course content and resources over the next five years.
    • Different e-learning techniques will be used like YouTube, Google Classroom, SWAYAM Prabha portal, direct-to-home (DTH), etc.
• Sanitisation and Quarantine Measures before School Reopenings:
  
  • The measures would include ensuring basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, safe drinking water, availability of sanitiser, disinfectant, cleaning material and equipment for temperature checking.
• Financial Support:
  
  • Under the composite grant for schools, ranging between Rs. 25,000 for small schools with less than 100 students and Rs. 1 lakh for schools with over a thousand students for awareness and community mobilisation to sensitise parents, students and local leaders about pandemics, social distancing and other preventive measures.
  • Rs. 1,000 per teacher to encourage them to function as first-level counsellors, disseminate basic information about Covid-19 and provide digital/online/mobile education.
  • Rs. 1 lakh per school for sanitisation and quarantine measures in preparation for the safe reopening of schools.
  • A proposed budget of Rs. 55,840 crore to equip government schools above the upper primary level, with ICT facilities.

Challenges

• Social Inequity:
  
  • e-Learning is a privilege for the students from middle and upper class but it has proved to be a nuisance for students from the lower middle class and people living below the poverty line (BPL).
• Marketing of Education:
  
  • Corporate houses, technology firms and educational institutions will be working closely to achieve the goals of e-learning which may aggravate the commercialisation of education and exclude the self-dependent tutors and students from economically weak backgrounds.
• Technological Constraints:
  
  • Poor students, who do not have access to e-resources (computers, laptops, internet connectivity), will not be able to attend classes from home.
  • Teachers too might have technical constraints and if teachers are equipped but the same might not be the case for the institutions.
• Lack of Practical Learning:
  
  • Most of the subjects like beauty culture, fashion design and tailoring, office management, travel and tourism, web design etc need practical learning so it is difficult to teach them from a distance.
• Traditional classroom organisations like schools and colleges, as social space (whereby a student not just learns the academic knowledge but many social skills also), are indispensable.

Way Forward

• The government should start making access to technology universal in the public education system. Private players can make e-resources accessible and available to students under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
• The definition of the right to education needs to expand and promote online education so that it addresses the importance of connectivity and access to knowledge and information.
• Traditional classroom organisations should give way to online education.
• Further, there is a need for deep reflection on curriculum and to ensure scientific literacy within it as the society still struggles against superstitions and hardly fights misinformation actively.

Source: TH

G4 Flu Virus

Why in News

Recently, scientists have identified a “newly emerged” strain of influenza virus that is infecting Chinese pigs and that has the potential of triggering a pandemic.

• Named G4, scientists believe that it has descended from the H1N1 strain that was responsible for the 2009 swine flu pandemic.
• A Pandemic happens if a new strain emerges that can easily spread from person to person.

Key Points

• G4 Strain:
  
  • It was identified through surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs through a study carried out from 2011 to 2018 in ten provinces of China.
  • It can grow and multiply in the cells that line the human airways.
  • It has the capability of binding to human-type receptors (like, the SARS-CoV-2 virus).
  • Scientists found evidence of recent infection in people who worked in abattoirs and the swine industry in China.
    
    • However, it is not clear whether the new strain can transmit from one human to another.
  • Current flu vaccines do not appear to protect against it, although they could be adapted to do so if needed.
• Flu Pandemic:
  
  • Pigs are intermediate hosts for the generation of pandemic influenza virus.
    
    • Intermediate host is an organism that harbours a parasitic which is being provided with nourishment and shelter by the organism.
  • The systemic surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs is a key measure for pre-warning the emergence of the next pandemic influenza.
    
    • There is an urgent need to control the prevailing G4 virus in pigs.
• 2009 Swine Flu Pandemic:
  
  • The 2009 pandemic was caused by a strain of the swine flu called the H1N1 virus, which was transmitted from human to human.
    
    • Swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses i.e. H1N1. It is called swine flu because it was known in the past to occur in people who had been in the vicinity of pigs.
    • While humans typically do not get infected by such a virus that circulates among pigs, when they do, it is called “variant influenza virus”.
  • The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak of type A H1N1 influenza virus a pandemic in 2009 when there were around 30,000 cases globally.
  • Transmission: The virus is transmitted by short-distance airborne transmission, particularly in crowded enclosed spaces. Hand contamination and direct contact are other possible sources of transmission.
  • Symptoms of swine flu include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue.
  • The treatment includes antiviral therapy with medicines like Oseltamivir (Tamiflu), peramivir (Rapivab).

Source: IE

Attorney General of India

Why in News

The central government has extended the term of K.K. Venugopal as Attorney General (AG) for one year.

• Venugopal was appointed the 15th AG of India in 2017. He succeeded Mukul Rohatgi who was AG from 2014-2017.

Key Points

• The Attorney General (AG) of India is a part of the Union Executive. AG is the highest law officer in the country.
• Article 76 of the Constitution provides for the office of AG of India.
• Appointment and Eligibility:
  
  • AG is appointed by the President on the advice of the government.
  • S/he must be a person who is qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, i.e. s/he must be a citizen of India and must have been a judge of some high court for five years or an advocate of some high court for ten years or an eminent jurist, in the opinion of the President.
• Term of the Office: Not fixed by the Constitution.
• Removal: Procedures and grounds for the removal of AG are not stated in the Constitution. S/he holds office during the pleasure of the President (may be removed by the President at any time).
• Duties and Functions:
  
  • To give advice to the Government of India (GoI) upon such legal matters, which are referred to her/him by the President.
  • To perform such other duties of a legal character that are assigned to her/him by the President.
    
    • To appear on behalf of the GoI in all cases in the Supreme Court or in any case in any High Court in which the GoI is concerned.
    • To represent the GoI in any reference made by the President to the Supreme Court under Article 143 (Power of the President to consult the Supreme Court) of the Constitution.
  • To discharge the functions conferred on her/him by the Constitution or any other law.
• Rights and Limitations:
  
  • S/he has the right to speak and to take part in the proceedings of both the Houses of Parliament or their joint sitting and any committee of the Parliament of which s/he may be named a member, but without a right to vote.
  • S/he enjoys all the privileges and immunities that are available to a member of Parliament.
  • S/he does not fall in the category of government servants. S/he is not debarred from private legal practice.
  • However, s/he should not advise or hold a brief against the GoI.
• Solicitor General of India and Additional Solicitor General of India assist the AG in fulfillment of the official responsibilities.
• Corresponding Office in the States: Advocate General (Article 165).

Source: TH

Rajaji National Park

Why in News

Recently, a clash took place between Van Gujjars and the Uttarakhand forest officials in the Rajaji National Park.

Key Points

• Location: Haridwar (Uttarakhand), along the foothills of the Shivalik range, spans 820 square kilometres.
• Background: Three sanctuaries in the Uttarakhand i.e. Rajaji, Motichur and Chila were amalgamated into a large protected area and named Rajaji National Park in the year 1983 after the famous freedom fighter C. Rajgopalachari; popularly known as “Rajaji”.
• Features:
  
  • This area is the North Western Limit of habitat of Asian elephants.
  • Forest types include sal forests, riverine forests, broad–leaved mixed forests, scrubland and grassy.
  • It possesses as many as 23 species of mammals and 315 bird species such as elephants, tigers, leopards, deers and ghorals, etc.
  • It was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2015.
  • It is home to the Van Gujjars in the winters.
• Van Gujjars:
  
  • It is one of the few forest-dwelling nomadic communities in the country.
  • Usually, they migrate to the bugyals (grasslands) located in the upper Himalayas with their buffaloes and return only at the end of monsoons to their makeshift huts, deras, in the foothills. They inhabit the foothills of Himalayan states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand.
  • They traditionally practice buffalo husbandry; a family owns up to 25 heads of buffaloes. They rely on buffaloes for milk, which gets them a good price in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh markets.
• Other Protected Areas in Uttarakhand:
  
  • Jim Corbett National Park (first National Park of India).
  • Valley of Flowers National Park and Nanda Devi National Park which together are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Govind Pashu Vihar National Park and Sanctuary.
  • Gangotri National Park.
  • Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary.

Source: DTE

CogX 2020: Festival of AI & Emerging Technology

Why in News

Recently MyGov Corona Helpdesk Chatbot has bagged two awards under categories (1) “Best Innovation for Covid-19 – Society” and (2) “People’s Choice Covid-19 Overall Winner” at the recently held CogX 2020.

Key Points

• CogX is a prestigious Global Leadership Summit and Festival of Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technology held annually in London with over 15,000 participants in attendance from the highest levels of business, government, industry, and research.
  
  • The CogX Awards are given out to the best-of-the-best in AI and emerging technologies across the world.
• MyGov Corona Helpdesk demonstrated the true Public, Private Partnership (PPP), wherein, citizen centric services were provided by MyGov, while the state-of-the-art technological solution including infrastructure were designed, developed, and deployed by a private partner- JioHaptik Technologies Limited.
• This Chatbox has been developed by MyGov, JioHaptik Technologies Limited and WhatsApp.
• MyGov (launched in 2014) is the world’s largest citizen engagement platform, which facilitates two-way communication between the Government and Citizen and facilitates participatory governance in India.

Source: PIB