Context: 

Recently Rajasthan State governments issued a notification declaring ‘orans’ as deemed forests raised fear in community dwellers about losing access to forest produce and livelihood.

Supreme Court Directives on Deemed Forests

• Status of Deemed Forests: A notification is given as per the directives of the Supreme Court, Oran, Dev-vans and Rundhs, as forest lands will be deemed a forest.
• TN Godavarman case 1996: The SC in TN Godavarman case 1996, directed the state governments to identify such lands and stated that all ‘forest’, including deemed forests, will be covered under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
• Prohibition of Non-Forestry Activities: The provisions under Section 2 prohibit non-forestry activity such as mining, deforestation, quarrying or building infrastructure projects on such forest land without permission from the central government.

About Orans

• Community Conserved Sacred Spaces: Orans are community-conserved sacred spaces rich in biodiversity and usually include a water body.
• The locals consider Orans as sacred groves, i.e., a piece of natural vegetation protected by a certain community for religious reasons. 
  • They are barred from cutting and felling trees due to spiritual and religious connections to the Orans.
• Livestock Grazing: Orans use their livestock for grazing and are also places for communal congregations, festivals, and other social events, 
• Habitat: They are among the last natural habitats of the Great Indian Bustard.
• Concerns Regarding Orans: The current categorisation of Orans as wastelands is causing a loss of biodiversity and is affecting the livelihood of the locals in the area, as huge chunks of land are allotted for setting up solar plants.
  • The open stretch of land, which receives long hours of sunlight and brisk winds, has become a hub of green energy with windmills and solar photovoltaic dotting it.

What Will Be the Challenges if Orans are Declared as Deemed Forest?

• Deprived of Forest Produce: Communities believe that once the organ is declared as deemed forest, they will be deprived of forest produce and access for herds and sheep in the forest area.
  • The villagers use gum, timber, forest produce and wild vegetables from orans for their livelihood and daily use. 
• Vacating Lands: 
  • Even the places of worship, last rites and religious events take place inside the oran and are related to the trees, water bodies and other entities of the sacred groves
• Restrict the Movement of People: Oran land and neighbouring villages are interconnected and used for moving around, so restrictions in forests will affect the movement.
• Non-Forest Areas: Oran land mainly falls in desert areas, so the dictionary meaning of forest is not applicable. Hence, the use of land contradicts the definition of forest if the 1996 Godavarman judgment is to be applied.
• No consultation with the Local Community: No representative from the government approached the community members for consultation or hearing.

What Are Sacred Groves? 

• Sacred Groves are small patches of trees traditionally protected by the local community for religious and cultural significance.

Significance of Sacred Groves

• Protection of Nature: It plays a crucial role in soil conservation and preventing soil erosion, which maintains soil fertility
• Mitigating Natural Disasters: Sacred groves act as natural windbreaks, shielding nearby settlements and agricultural lands from solid winds and reducing damage, hurricanes, or storms.

• Biodiversity Conservation: They contain a high level of biodiversity because they are protected from human interference. This makes them important for rare and endangered species seeking habitats.
• Religious Significance: They are dedicated to a particular deity or spirit. They are seen as the dwelling place of such beings, and also as a place where humans can connect with the divine.
• Cultural Significance: Integral to local traditions and beliefs, sacred groves enrich cultural heritage through rituals, stories, and connections to ancestral wisdom, fostering community identity and pride.

News Source: Down to Earth

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context:

• Recently ASML unveiled its new ‘High NA EUV’ Lithography machines which represent the cutting edge in semiconductor manufacturing, revolutionising the production of these essential components.

High NA EUV Lithography Machine

• High NA EUV Machine: It uses extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photolithography, a next-generation technology, to make the semiconductors.
• Process: The mould of the circuits of a transistor, a type of semiconductor, is transferred to a silicon wafer coated with a light-sensitive material called a photoresist.
• Rayleigh scattering criterion: According to this criterion, the size of the feature to be projected on the wafer is proportional to the wavelength of light used and inversely proportional to the lens’s aperture that collects light before projecting it onto the wafer.

About Lithography:

• Lithography: A crucial step in semiconductor fabrication, lithography involves transferring intricate patterns from a mask or photomask onto the wafer surface using light exposure and photoresist materials.

Steps in Photolithography:

• Substrate Cleaning: The substrate (typically a silicon wafer) is cleaned to eliminate pollutants.
• Photoresist Covering: A slight layer of photoresist is turned covered onto the substrate, making an even surface.
• Soft Bake: The coated substrate is gently heated to eliminate solvent and guarantee uniformity.
• Mask Alignment: A photomask with the desired pattern is aligned over the substrate.
• Exposure: UV light is radiated through the veil onto the photoresist, causing a substance change.
• Post-Exposure Bake: The substrate is warmed again to balance out the example in the photoresist.
• Development: The exposed photoresist is removed using a developer solution, revealing the pattern.
• Hard Bake: The remaining photoresist is made more durable by performing a final heating step.
• Etching or Implantation: The uncovered substrate regions are carved or adjusted depending on the situation.
• Photoresist Stripping: The patterned substrate is left behind after removing the remaining photoresist.

Advantages of Photolithography

• High-Quality Patterns: Photolithography creates precise and detailed patterns on various surfaces like computer chips.
• Efficient Production: It’s effective in mass production, like the production of computer chips in a factory.
• Cost-Effective: It is relatively affordable to make more items, after the initial setup.
• Versatile: It can be used with different materials, including metals and plastics.
• Accurate Alignment: It ensures that all parts fit together correctly.
• Fast Processing: It enhances the pace of machine working, thus increasing production speed.

Applications of Photolithography

• Semiconductor Manufacturing: Photolithography is essential for creating components on computer chips.
• Electronics: It makes sensors, Mobile-LED TV displays, and other electronic components.
• Circuit Boards: It helps define electricity pathways in circuit boards.
• Optics: It is used to produce lenses and optical devices.
• Medical Devices: Production of medical devices in diagnosis and Treatment.
• Nanotechnology: It has applications in Nano-technology,

News Source: The Hindu

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context: 

The Supreme Court slammed the former Uttarakhand forest minister for illegal construction and felling of trees inside Jim Corbett National Park, part of the Corbett Tiger Reserve.

Key Highlight of the Supreme Court Judgement On Corbett Tiger Reserve

• Politico-Administrative Nexus: It also condemned the illegal felling of over 6,000 trees to construct buildings ostensibly for “eco-tourism” at the Corbett tiger reserve in Uttarakhand as a “classic case” of the greedy nexus between politicians and officials working to devastate the environment for short-term commercial ends.
• Illegal Construction: It also found construction of concrete buildings without due administrative clearances. 
• Formation of a Committee: The SC directed the formation of a committee comprising of representatives from Central Empowered Committee, NTCA, Wildlife Institute of India and Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change. 
• Restoration of the Damages: The panel will “recommend the measures for restoration of the damages, in the local in situ environment to its original state before the damage was caused; assess the environmental damage caused in Corbett tiger reserve and quantify the costs for restoration
  • The state shall recover the quantified cost from the people and delinquent officers responsible for the damage. 
• Feasibility of Tiger Safaris: The committee will also consider and submit recommendations on whether tiger safaris can be permitted in the fringe area of the forests

About Corbett Tiger Reserve

• Location: Nainital, Uttarakhand.
• Geographical Features: It has various ravines, ridges, minor streams and small plateaus with degrees of slopes and changeable aspects. The Patli Dun Valley, formed by the Ramganga River, also runs through the middle of the park.
• Rivers: Ramganga, Kosi & Sonanadi.The park’s “lifeline” is the Ramganga River, which flows from the Gairsain region of the Lesser Himalayas. 
  • Tributaries such as the Sonanadi, Mandal, and Palain Rivers join the river. 
  • The park’s eastern boundary is the Kosi River, which flows from Mohan to Ramnagar via Dhikuli.

Flora of Corbett Tiger Reserve

Fauna of Corbett Tiger Reserve

Challenges Associated With National Parks in India:

• Human-Wildlife Conflict:  Human-wildlife conflicts arise when there is a clash between the needs and activities of local communities and the conservation objectives of national parks
  • For Example: The escalating animal-human conflict in the Mysore region worries wildlife lovers and environmentalists. A tiger killed a 54-year-old tribal man in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve who entered the forest to collect fodder for his goats.
• Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation: Species habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation are interconnected with population growth and land use. 
  • For Example: Linear intrusions like roads and powerlines, quarrying, sand mining, and diversion of forest land for non-forest uses have created new forest edges.
• Poaching and Illegal Wildlife Trade: Poaching and illegal wildlife trade pose significant threats to the conservation of endangered species in national parks in India.
  • For Example: According to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) As many as 51 incidents of illegal wildlife trade were reported from Karnataka during 2022.
  • Climatic factors: It changes the flowering patterns of flowers, fruits, and foraging and forest usage patterns of animals.
  • As animals change their movements, they tend to alter the ecosystem considerably. For instance, elephants are moving into Himachal Pradesh, and other colder areas of the country, where no sightings of elephants had been reported earlier. 
• Alien Species Invasion: This is mainly caused by irresponsible imports and exports. Some invasions lead to the extinction of native species and impact the native environment.
  • For example: When elephants move in no native environments, they alter the existing forests, influencing the survival of a range of established species.
• Changes in Land Use: Sub-urbanisation and the expansion of livestock grazing drive species to shift their territorial and movement behavior. Thus, wild species come into more frequent contact with people.

News Source: Down to Earth

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context:

• Recently the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) warned all stakeholders that stringent action would be taken for endorsements of illegal activities, including betting and gambling.

Key Highlights of the Advisory issued by CCPA On Online Gambling

• Prohibition of Unlawful Advertisement: The advisory, in accordance with the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, has emphasized the prohibition of advertising, promotion, and endorsement of unlawful activities that are prohibited under various laws.
• Prohibition of Advertisements related to Betting and Gambling: Betting and gambling are strictly prohibited under the Public Gambling Act, 1867, and are considered illegal in the majority of regions across the country.
  • Despite this, online betting platforms and apps persist in advertising betting and gambling directly, as well as under the guise of gaming
• Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022: The advisory highlighted that the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022, categorically prohibit advertisements of products or services prohibited under any prevailing law.
• Rigorous Scrutiny:  CCPA cautioned that any advertisement or endorsement of activities that are prohibited by the law, including but not limited to betting or gambling, would be subject to rigorous scrutiny.
• Penalty for Violators: If any violation of the guidelines is found, stringent measures, as per the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, will be initiated against (those) involved, including manufacturers, advertisers, publishers, intermediaries, social media platforms, endorsers.

About Central Consumer Protection Authority:

• Nodal Ministry: The Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
• Composition
• • It will have a Chief Commissioner as head, and only two other commissioners as members one of whom will deal with matters relating to goods while the other will look into cases relating to services.
  • The CCPA will have an Investigation Wing that will be headed by a Director General.
  • District Collectors too, will have the power to investigate complaints of violations of consumer rights, unfair trade practices, and false or misleading advertisements.
• Regulatory Body: Central Consumer Protection Authority is a regulatory body set up under Section 10(1) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to handle matters affecting rights of consumers.
  • CCPA targets individuals or entities that follow improper trade practices or display inappropriate or wrong advertisements affecting public interest. 

Powers of Central Consumer Protection Authority:

• Power to Order Inquiry: CCPA can order inquiry, either on receipt of complaint or suo-moto or as directed by the Central Government, in case of violations of rights of consumers or in notice of trade practices which is unfair.
  • Central Consumer Protection Authority can order an investigation by the District Collector or by Director General if there is prima facie evidence of violations of rights of consumers or unfair trade practices.
• Power to Call the Entity: If an entity is following unfair trade practices or making any false or inaccurate advertisement, CCPA can call upon the entity and can direct them to produce any document or record to substantiate their claims.
• Power to withdraw  Services or Products: CCPA can direct recalling of any dangerous, hazardous or unsafe goods or withdrawal of similar services, along with refunding the funds.
• Registering of Complaints with relevant authorities: CCPA can help consumers to register complaints before the National Commission, the State Commission, or the District Commission, formed as per the Act.
• Discontinuing of Advertisements: CCPA can direct a producer or endorser or advertiser to discontinue advertisements which are wrong or misleading or prejudicial to consumers.
• Preventing Endorser of a Misleading Product: Central Consumer Protection Authority can prevent the endorser of a misleading product from endorsing any product or service for a time period ranging upto one year, and three years in case of contravention.

News Source: The Hindu

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context: 

The 2023-24 El Nino event has peaked as one of the five strongest on record according to WMO.

2023-24 El Niño – One of the Strongest on Record Says WMO

• As per the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the global mean temperature breached the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold for an entire year for the first time in January.
• World Meteorological Organisation issued the Global Seasonal Climate Update as per which, 
  • El Nino event 2023: It was strongest between November and January.
    • It displayed a peak value of about 2.0 degrees Celsius above the 1991 to 2020 average sea-surface temperature for the eastern and central tropical Pacific Ocean though it was weaker than the 1997-98 and 2015-2016 events.
  • Impact: 
    • The present El-Nino event  will result in above-normal sea-surface temperatures over much of the global oceans 
    • It is expected to lead to above-normal temperatures over almost all land areas in the next three months, and influence regional rainfall patterns.
  • Peaking: There is about a 60% chance of El Nino persisting during March-May with above-normal temperatures predicted over almost all land areas but it will be weakened  with an 80% likelihood of neutral conditions developing during April to June.
  • Emergence of La nina: There is a higher chance of La Nina developing later in the year again
  • Every month since June 2023 has set a new monthly temperature record and 2023 was, by far, the warmest year on record. El Nino has contributed to these record temperatures but heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

News source: The hindu

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context: 

Maldives has signed a defense agreement with China for obtaining non-lethal weapons and training.

• Key developmental initiatives from China to the Maldives are China-Maldives Friendship Bridge and several social housing projects. 
  • Maldives earlier has also participated in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Implications of China Maldives Defence Agreement on India

• Strategic Shift in Defense Ties

  • Strengthening of China and Maldives Relation: The recent military assistance agreement shows  a significant deepening of military ties between the Maldives and China.
  • Growing Chinese Influence: From India’s point of view, this change in ties with respect to defense is a matter of concern as It would help China to increase its influence in the Indian Ocean region.

• Impact on Regional Security: 

  • The Maldives is situated in the Indian Ocean which is a vital maritime route. 
    • Any improvement in the defense capabilities of the Maldives, even if they’re non-lethal, could affect the dynamics of regional security.

• Divergence In The India Maldives Relations

• • India and the Maldives share longstanding historical and cultural connections. However, at present, Maldives’ decision of withdrawal of Indian personnel and signing defense agreement with China is an indication of increasing non-cooperative and  hostile relationship of Maldives with India. 

News Source: Indianexpress

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context:

As per World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest HIV Drug Resistance (HIVDR) Report, resistance to the antiretroviral drug dolutegravir (DTG) is increasing among HIV patients.

• Haiti was the only country to report data from a survey of HIVDR among antiretroviral therapy (ART) naïve infants or infants starting ART for the first time.

About Dolutegravir (DTG)

• Antiretroviral Drug: Dolutegravir (DTG), sold under the brand name Tivicay, is an antiretroviral medication used, together with other medication, to treat HIV/AIDS. 
• Preferred for HIV Treatment: Since 2018, WHO has recommended dolutegravir as the preferred first- and second-line HIV treatment due to its effectiveness, ease of use and minimal side effects. 

Key Highlights of the HIV Drug Resistance (HIVDR) Report:

• A Positive Development: 
• • High levels of HIV viral load suppression (>90 per cent) in populations receiving DTG containing antiretroviral therapy (ART).
  • Arising Concerns: 
  • High Number of Cases: The report revealed that the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets are off track, with 1.3 million new HIV infections and 630,000 HIV-related deaths reported in 2022.
  • Evidence of Drug Resistance: The worrying evidence of resistance in individuals with unsuppressed viral load despite dolutegravir treatment.
    • Survey data from four sources indicate resistance levels ranging from 3.9-8.6%, reaching 19.6% among individuals with high viral loads who transitioned to DTG-containing antiretroviral therapy (ART).
  • Transmission to Infants: Haiti reported a unique case where an infant, born to a mother receiving DTG-based ART, showed resistance to DTG. 

Recommendations: 

• Regular Monitoring: Routine surveillance of HIVDR to track prevalence and patterns of resistance, critical for shaping treatment guidelines and improving programme quality. 
  • • Routine monitoring of quality-of-care indicators, including on-time ART pick-up and viral load testing coverage, are crucial for successful ART programmes.
  • Strengthening of Data Reporting Systems: To monitor and report quality-of-care indicators effectively. 
  • Quality Enhancement: Target lacking by the countries emphasizing the need for improved quality of treatment and care services.

News Source: Down to Earth

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context: 

This Article is based on the news “Law Commission recommends new law to protect trade secrets” which was published in the Indian Express. Recently, the Law Commission Of India in its 289th Report ‘Trade Secrets and Economic Espionage’ recommended a new law to protect ‘Trade Secrets’.

Law Commission Report on Trade Secrets: Key Highlights

• Exploring the Unique Dynamics of Safeguarding Trade Secrets within Intellectual Property: Law Commission emphasized their unique characteristics compared to other forms of IP.

• New legislation be introduced: The Law Commission recommended that new legislation be introduced to protect trade secrets with exceptions relating to whistleblower protection, compulsory licensing, government use, and public interest.
• India’s Obligation towards Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement:  As per the TRIPS Agreement, it was mandatory for all the member states to protect the Trade Secrets/undisclosed information in accordance with Article 39 of the TRIPS Agreement.
• Single statute relating to trade secrets and economic espionage like the UK, USA, EU, and Germany: to address all issues related to trade secret leakages and economic espionage as consistently targeted by foreign governments in acts of active and passive economic espionage.
• Proposed: The  Protection Of Trade Secrets bill,2024 has been proposed by the Law Commission.

What Are Trade Secrets?

• According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), trade secrets are ‘intellectual property rights on confidential information such as formulas, processes, methods, customer lists, and technicality etc which may be sold or licensed’. 

• Essentials of a Trade Secret: 
• • Secret: It is known by a limited group of people.
  • Commercial Value: Derive their value from being kept secret.
  • Reasonable steps to be taken by the owner to keep the information secret.
• Ex – Recipe of Coca-Cola beverages etc. 
• Unlike other forms of intellectual property, which are limited in duration, They can be protected indefinitely.

What Are the Issues With Trade Secrets & Espionage laws in India?

• No specific law: Currently, India lacks a specific law for the protection of trade secrets. It is based on equity and common law. Instead, they are safeguarded under the general laws governing contracts, common law, criminal law, and principles of breach of confidence and equity.
• Variation in law to its Application: The legal landscape surrounding trade secrets in India has evolved through case laws leading to variations and inconsistencies in its application.
• In Economic espionage:  It typically involves a foreign State as a party, whereas commercial espionage is between two commercial entities.

How is Trade Secret Law Governed in India?

Trade Secret law in India is mostly governed via common law such as: 

• Section 27 of the Contract Act – Law that bound the parties not to disclose information contrary to the terms of the contract between the parties i.e., NonDisclosure Agreements. 
• Section 405-409 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with the cases when there is a Criminal Breach of trust.

How Can a Trade Secret Be Protected?

• Non-disclosure agreement (NDA): employees and business partners should sign a non-disclosure agreement that prevents them from disclosing a company’s confidential information.
• Non-compete agreement (NCA): employers should ask employees, contractors and consultants to sign a non-compete agreement to prevent them from entering in competition when their employment/service agreement ends.

What Are the Current Progress in Trade Secret Protection Laws in India? 

The Department of Legal Affairs and the Legislative Department examined the issue of enacting the Economic Espionage Act and Trade Secrets Protection Act and prepared a concept paper along with a draft cabinet note and a draft Bill.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context:

This Article is based on the news “Women, Business and the Law 2024” which was published in the World Bank Group. Recently, the World Bank Group released the “Women, Business and the Law 2024” report.

About Women, Business and the Law 2024

• An Annual Report: It is the 10th in a series of annual studies measuring the laws that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. 
• Analysis: It presented an in-depth analysis of the challenges obstructing women’s entry into the global workforce, hindering their ability to contribute to prosperity for themselves, their families and their communities.
• Measurements: It introduces new measurements to track global progress toward legal gender equality in 190 economies.
• Indicators: This year, it presents two sets of data: Women, Business and the Law 1.0 and an expanded version, Women, Business and the Law 2.0.
  • Women, Business and the Law 1.0: 
    • It updates its index of eight indicators include Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension, 
  • Women, Business and the Law 2.0: 
    • It introduces two new indicators: Safety and Childcare and revises the ongoing indicators.  

Key Findings of the Women, Business and the Law 2024- Persistent Global Gaps

• Weak Legal Rights: 

  • Worldwide women legal rights are significantly lower than initially perceived. 
    • When considering legal distinctions related to violence and childcare, women are found to have less than two-thirds or 64% of the rights enjoyed by men. 
    • Estimation: Earlier estimates projected women had 77% of the rights. 

• Implementation Gap:

  • There is a substantial implementation gap, with countries, on average, establishing less than 40% of the required systems for full implementation.
    • Example: While 98 economies have enacted laws mandating equal pay for women, fewer than one in five have adopted measures or mechanisms addressing the pay gap.

• On Legal Equality Opportunity Reforms: 

  • In 2023, governments made strides in advancing legal equal-opportunity reforms in three categories—pay, parental rights and workplace protections. 
    • However, the report revealed poor performance in the two new categories being tracked—access to childcare and women’s safety.

• Poor Performance on Safety & Childcare: 

  • Nearly all economies performed poorly in the two indicators being tracked for the first time—Safety and Childcare.
    • On Women’s Safety: It emerged as a significant weakness, with a global average score of just 36, indicating that women have barely a third of the required legal protections against domestic violence, sexual harassment, child marriage and femicide. 
    • On Childcare: Only 78 economies provide financial or tax support for parents and just 62 have quality standards for childcare services.

• Notable Regional Disparities: 

  • Among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) high-income economies, 11 countries score 90 points or above. 
    • The gap in scores between the highest- and lowest-scoring economies is most pronounced in high-income economies, with a substantial difference of 75 points.

• Obstacles faced by Women in Other Areas:

  • On Entrepreneurship: Globally, only 44% of the legal provisions that support the entrepreneurship of women are in place. Women hold just one out of every five corporate board positions..
  • On Pay: Women earn just 77 cents for every dollar paid to men.
  • On Nationality Rights: In 28 economies, a woman cannot pass her nationality to children in the same way as a man.
  • On Retirement: In 62 economies, the age at which men and women can retire is not the same, with women retiring earlier than men.
    • In 81 economies, a woman’s pension benefits do not account for periods of work absences related to childcare.

Crucial Insights of India’s Performance From Women, Business and the Law 2024 Report

• Improvement in Ranking: 

  • India’s rank has marginally improved to 113, with a score of 74.4%. 
    • While the country’s score has remained constant since 2021, its ranking declined from 122 in 2021 to 125 in 2022 and 126 in the 2023 index. 

• Disparity in Legal Rights: 

  • Indian women have just 60% of the legal rights compared to men, slightly below the global average of 64.2%. 
    • Best Performer in South Asia: India outperformed its South Asian counterparts, where women have only 45.9% of the legal protections enjoyed by men. 

• On Women’s Pay: 

  • India receives one of its lowest scores in the indicator evaluating laws impacting women’s pay. 
    • Possible Solutions: India could explore measures such as mandating equal pay for equivalent work, permitting women to work at night on par with men and enabling women to engage in industrial jobs on an equal footing with men.

• On Supporting Framework: 

  • India scored higher than both the global and South Asian averages. 
    • The lowest indicator in frameworks was childcare. 
    • Possible Solutions: Creating a publicly accessible registry or database of childcare providers and implementing a well-defined application process for parents seeking government financial support for childcare services, among others. 

Status of Women in India

• Low Literacy Rate: 

  • The literacy rate of women in India (65.46%), especially in rural areas, still remains very poor.
    • The male literacy rate is 80%.

• Low Participation in Workforce: 

  • Only 11.75% of India’s police force is female, and 56.5% of women earning a “regular wage or salary” outside agriculture are not eligible for any social security. 

• Safety Concern: 

  • Women face various challenges such as foeticides, domestic violence, rape, trafficking, forced prostitution, honour killings, sexual harassment at the workplace, etc.
  • In 2024, India’s crime rate stood at 445.9 per 100,000 people.
  • It was marking a decline from 487.8 in 2020. However, crimes against women increased by 4%.

• Period Poverty: 

  • Lack of access to sanitary products, menstrual education and hygiene and sanitation facilities necessary to properly manage menstruation.
    • According to a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) study conducted in 2011 only 13% of girls in India are aware of menstruation before menarche.

• Role Stereotyping: 

  • A large section of the Indian Society considered the roles of men as taking all the financial responsibilities and working outside and women may be considered to be less reliable as workers because of their child-rearing functions.

• Differentiation in the Socialisation Process: 

• • In many parts of India, especially in rural regions, there are still different socialisation norms for men and women.
    • Women are expected to be soft-spoken, calm, and quiet, whereas men ought to be confident, loud, and able to display any behaviour as per their wish.

• Less Representation in Legislature: 

  • Women’s representation in different legislative bodies remains low across India.
    • According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), in India, women make up 14.44% of the 17th Lok Sabha.

Way Forward to Gender Equity And Equality

• Emphasize Reforming Laws & Enacting Public Policies:

  • Accelerate efforts to reform laws and enact public policies that empower women to work and start a business.
  • Improve laws related to women’s safety, access to childcare and business opportunities.
  • Establish frameworks that support the effective implementation of laws promoting gender equality.
  • Implement legally binding quotas for women on corporate boards and mandate gender-sensitive criteria for public procurement processes.
    • Some of the famous women empowerment schemes in India are Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme, Mahila Mandal Scheme, Mahila Shakti Kendras (MSK), Mahila Police Volunteers, Mahila E-Haat, etc.

• Eliminating Discriminatory Laws & Practices:

  • Enact legal reforms that mandate equal pay for work of equal value and lift restrictions on a woman’s ability to work in industrial jobs.
  • Expand maternity and paternity leave provisions, and prohibit the firing of pregnant women.
    • The Indian Constitution guarantees equal pay for equal work for both men and women under Article 39(d) and Article 42. 
    • The Indian Constitution also prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender under Article 15(1) and Article 15(2).

• Provide Financial Support: 

  • Provide financial support for parents with young children, and establish quality standards for childcare services.
  • Ensure equal retirement benefits for women, accounting for periods of work absences related to childcare.
    • The Lakhpati Didi Program, implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development, aims to catalyze economic empowerment and financial independence among women in rural areas. 
      • A Lakhpati Didi is a Self-Help Group member who earns an annual household income of Rupees One Lakh (₹1,00,000) or more.

• Women’s Workforce for World Economic Growth: 

  • In an era of persistently slow growth, increasing the participation of women in the global workforce could significantly brighten the outlook.
    • Closing the gender gap in employment and entrepreneurship could raise the global gross domestic product by more than 20%. 
    • Eliminating the gender gap over the next decade would essentially double the current global growth rate.

• Women’s Safety: 

  • For Women’s safety, there is a need to introduce more women police forces such as the Nirbhaya Squad, which comprises trained women police officials. 
  • The Nirbhaya Squad was formed to prevent various crimes perpetrated against women including sexual harassment, stalking, rape and acid attacks among others.

Conclusion

The new Women, Business and the Law 2.0 three-tiered approach, reveals important gaps and demonstrates that the perceptions of experts on the status of women’s rights are not always in line with what is needed to implement those rights in practice. Effective implementation of equal-opportunity laws necessitates a robust supporting framework and accessible healthcare services.

DOWNLOAD PDF