Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Jal Jeevan Mission , Margdarshika
Mains level: Water management
What is Jal Jeevan Mission ?
The Union Minister of Jal Shakti launched a special mission mode campaign to provide potable piped water supply in all schools and anganwadi centres across the nation within 100 days.
About Jal Jeevan Mission
- This mission was envisaged by the Prime Minister on 29th September, 2020 while releasing the ‘Margdarshika’ for Gram Panchayats and Paani Samitis for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
- Provisions have been made under Jal Jeevan Mission for ensuring safe water through tap water connection in schools, anganwadi centres, health care centres, etc.
- National Jal Jeevan Mission has reached out to States/ UTs to ensure that during this campaign, Gram Sabhas are convened at the earliest to pass a resolution for providing safe water in all schools, anganwadi centres and other public institutions in the village in the next 100 days.
- These facilities will be operated and maintained by the Gram Panchayat and/ or its sub-committee i.e. Village Water & Sanitation Committee or Paani Samiti.
- Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) aims at the universal coverage of provision of tap water connection to every rural home by 2024. Under the mission, special focus is on women and children.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Swachh Bharat Puruskaar, Gandgi se Mukt Campaign
Mains level: Efforts for sanitation and cleanliness
What are Swachh Bharat Puruskar ?
- he Swachh Bharat (2020) Awards were conferred to the best performing States/UTs, districts, blocks, GPs and others in various categories marking six years of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) launch.
- The awards were given by Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS).
- Top Awards were conferred upon Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab& others.
- Gujarat was felicitated with the first prize in the state category; Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu as best district; Khachrod, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh as best block; and Chinnaur, (Salem) as the best Gram Panchayat for Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shauchalaya (SSSS) campaign organized from 1st Nov 2019 to 30th April 2020.
- For the week-long Gandagi Se Mukt campaign launched by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on 8th August 2020, Telangana received the top award for maximum Shramdaan participation.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Wildlife week
Mains level: Conservation of wildlife
Celebrating Wildlife Week
- Wildlife Week is celebrated every year in India between October 1 and 8.
- The annual theme of the campaign is to promote the preservation of fauna – i.e. animal life.
- Wildlife Week was conceptualized in 1952 with the overall goal of raising awareness to serve the long-term goal of safeguarding the lives of wildlife through critical action.
- In addition, the Indian Government established an Indian Board of Wild Life which works to improve awareness towards the preservation of wildlife.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Net Zero
Mains level: Climate change commitments
Context- Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Chinese President Xi Jinping made two promises that came as a welcome surprise to climate change watchers.
What has China announced ?
- First, Xi said, China would become carbon net-zero by the year 2060.
- Net-zero is a state in which a country’s emissions are compensated by absorptions and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
- Absorption can be increased by creating more carbon sinks such as forests, while removal involves application of technologies such as carbon capture and storage.
- Second, the Chinese President announced a small but important change in China’s already committed target for letting its emissions “peak”, from “by 2030” to “before 2030”.
- That means China would not allow its greenhouse gas emissions to grow beyond that point.
- Xi did not specify how soon “before 2030” means, but even this much is being seen as a very positive move from the world’s largest emitter.
How significant is China’s commitment?
- China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. It accounts for almost 30% of global emissions, more than the combined emissions in the United States, the European Union and India, the three next biggest emitters.
- Getting China to commit itself to a net-zero target is a big breakthrough, especially since countries have been reluctant to pledge themselves to such long term commitments.
- So far, the European Union was the only big emitter to have committed itself to a net-zero emission status by 2050.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Research and development is medical science
Context- Earlier this week, late actor Irrfan Khan’s wife Sutapa Sikdar made an appeal to legalise CBD oil in India for its potential to treat cancer. Her appeal followed the criticism of actor Rhea Chakrabaorty after it was reported that she had administered CBD oil, used as a pain reliever for some, to Sushant Singh Rajput when he was alive.
About CBD oil ?
- CBD oil is an extract from the cannabis plant. The two main active substances in it are cannabidiol or CBD and delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.
- The high that is caused by the consumption of cannabis is due to THC. CBD, however, does not cause a “high” or any form of intoxication.
- CBD oil is made by extracting CBD from the cannabis plant, then diluting it with a carrier oil like coconut or hemp seed oil.
- Cannabidiol can reduce pain and anxiety. It also reduces psychotic symptoms associated with conditions such as schizophrenia as well as epilepsy.
- There is not enough robust scientific evidence to prove that CBD oil can safely and effectively treat cancer.
- CBD oil manufactured under a license issued by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 can be legally used. However, the use of cannabis as a medicine is not much prevalent in India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Labour Code Bills
Mains level: Paper 2- Issues with the labour laws
Increase in the jobs without employment security
- Between 2004-05 and 2017-18, the share of salaried workers outside agriculture without any written contract increased from 60 per cent to 71 per cent.
- Even in private and public limited companies, this share increased from 59 per cent to 71 per cent.
- In the government and the public sector the share of such workers increasing from 27 per cent to 45 per cent over the period.
- Many of the wage jobs in the organised sector came through contractors.
- In organised manufacturing, the reported share of contract labour increased from 13 per cent in 1995-06 to 36 per cent in 2017-18.
Policy response
- A policy to deal with the problem of employment security was much needed.
- The response came in the form the three revised labour Code Bills — on Industrial Relations, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions, and Social Security.
- These were introduced in Parliament in the Monsoon Session, and approved on September 23.
- These three labour codes, along with the Code on Wages approved earlier, touch the lives of every Indian worker.
“Fixed term” worker
- In 2018, the government amended the Standing Orders on Employment Act and introduced the category of “fixed term” worker.
- That category creates a permanent cadre of temporary workers, with no prospects of career growth and job security.
Changes and issues with the Bills
- 1) Government had rationalised fixed-term employment by arguing that industries had resorted to the third-party engagement of contract labour to get around the rigidities in firing workers.
- But that has not stopped the Codes from further liberalising the provisions relating to employment of contract labour and making their regulation applicable only in establishments employing 50 or more workers, instead of 20 or more.
- 2) The key provisions which regulate the employment of inter-state migrant workers have been further diluted and made applicable only to establishments employing 10 or more such workers, compared to five earlier.
- 3) Along with the provisions of retrenchment, the applicability of the Standing Orders, which regulate the categorisation as well as the terms of employment of workers in establishments, has also been raised from 100 to 300 workers.
- 4) The threshold for factories has now been doubled — from 10 to 20 workers with power — thereby eliminating a large number of important regulatory provisions for the smaller factories.
- 5) Relevant governments have been given much more leeway in exempting establishments from the applicability of a whole range of provisions in the Code.
- 6) Inspection provisions have been diluted in all the Codes and will no longer even be complaints based.
- 7) The changes have also made legal industrial action a virtual impossibility, and the presence of unions less possible.
Conclusion
Informality contributes to inequality and to conditions which make sustainable growth impossible, and economic recovery more difficult. It also creates conditions in which employers under-invest in workers’ capacities and workers are not invested in a company’s future — leading to low productivity and lack of competitiveness.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: APMC Act, Companies Act, ECA 1955
Mains level: Paper 3- Reforms in various sectors of economy
The article discusses the issues faced by the various sectors of the economy and how the reform measures introduced by the government could help these sectors.
Exploitation of farmers and consumers
- The Indian farmer has bee treated as captive sources of producing cheap food grain while living at subsistence levels.
- There was no freedom to choose the point of sale for his produce, he could not decide the price of his product and had no say in selecting the buyer.
- The end consumer was equally short-changed with frequent cycles of persistent high inflation.
- The only beneficiaries of this perverse system were middlemen who thrived under political protection.
How reforms will help farmers
- The stifling nature of the Essential Commodities Act and the APMC Act have both been removed.
- Contract farming is now nationally enabled, allowing private investment to come in.
- Private investment will bring in technology, modern equipment, better seeds, know-how for in-between-season crops, improved yields, better logistics and freer access to national and international markets.
- The Indian farm sector will now finally begin to see the benefits of economies of scale.
Need for the reforms in various sectors
- There were 44 different labour laws with more than 1,200 sections and clauses that demanded compliance if one even thought of becoming an entrepreneur.
- Different inspectors and departments administered these laws and this stunted many entrepreneurs.
- The Companies Act of 2013 completely paralysed risk-taking and quick decision-making among the private wealth creators.
- There were a large number of organisations that called themselves “banks” but were completely outside the ambit of RBI regulation.
- The politicians who controlled these banks were the primary obstacles in introducing any reforms in these sectors.
- Indian mainstream banks, contrary to international norms, had a peculiar practice of “grossing” their bilateral liabilities rather than “netting”.
- As per estimates, this locked anywhere between Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000 crore funds.
Reforms made by the government
- In place of the 44 central labour laws, the Parliament has now put in place four labour codes that are much simpler — the Code on Wages, the Industrial Relations Code, the Social Security Code and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code.
- The bilateral banking netting law has been passed and a large corpus of unproductive capital has been freed to be deployed in the market.
- Cooperative banks will now be regulated by the RBI and its customers will have the same protections as those of other regular banks.
- The problematic sections of the Companies Act 2013 have been done away with and the fear of criminal prosecution gone.
Conclusion
The reforms in various sectors of the economy are bound to help the faster recovery of the economy as well as help the farmers realising their full potential.
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