Context 

Recently, the Indian government has introduced a new platform called CDP-SURAKSHA for disbursing subsidies to horticulture farmers under the Cluster Development Programme (CDP).

• SURAKSHA stands for “System for Unified Resource Allocation, Knowledge, and Secure Horticulture Assistance.” 

About CDP-SURAKSHA

• A Digital Platform: The CDP-SURAKSHA is essentially a digital platform that will allow an instant disbursal of subsidies to farmers in their bank account by utilizing the e-RUPI voucher from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
  • Access Allowed: It allows access to farmers, vendors, implementing agencies (IA), and cluster development agencies (CDAs), and officials of the National Horticulture Board (NHB).
• Characteristic Features: The CDP-SURAKSHA has features such as database integration with PM-KISAN, cloud-based server space from NIC, UIDAI validation, eRUPI integration, local government directory (LGD), content management system, geotagging, and geo-fencing.
• Aim: To push the growth of India’s horticulture sector, which contributes nearly one-third to the agriculture gross value addition (GVA). 
  • The total production of horticulture crops has also spiked in recent years. While in 2010-11, it stood at 240.53 million tonnes, the number rose to 334.60 million tonnes in 2020-21.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

Significance of the CDP-SURAKSHA Platform

• Upfront Subsidies: The CDP-SURAKSHA platform will provide subsidies to farmers upfront, at the time of purchasing the planting material. Vendors, who will supply planting materials to farmers, will receive their payment only after farmers verify the delivery of their orders.
  • In the old system, a farmer had to buy planting materials on their own. They would then have to approach the officials concerned for the release of the subsidy.
• The e-RUPI Voucher: The voucher is a one-time payment mechanism that can be redeemed without a card, digital payments app or internet banking access, at the merchants accepting e-RUPI. 
  • According to the NPCI, the e-RUPI can be shared with the beneficiaries for a specific purpose or activity by organisations or government via SMS or QR code.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context

Recently, Global Hepatitis Report 2024 was released by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Global Hepatitis Report 2024: Key Highlights

• As per the Global Hepatitis Report 2024, India has one of the highest viral hepatitis burden (causing liver inflammation damage and may lead to liver cancer).
  • Infection rates: There are around 304 million people living with Hepatitis B and C across the world as per the report.
• Largest killer: A  global death rate of 1.3 million annually, viral hepatitis with  tuberculosis were the second biggest infectious killer in 2022, behind only the deaths caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

What is Viral Hepatitis?

• Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. It causes  liver diseases including acute and chronic infections, liver failure, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.
• Mode of transmission: By infectious sources (virus and food and water contamination and sexual transmission) and non – infectious source like (heavy alcohol use, toxins, some medications, and certain medical conditions)
  • Hepatitis B: The infection is mainly driven by transmission from mother to child with almost 90 per cent of transmission happening  from the mother to the child .
• Main strains of Hepatitis: There are 5 main strains of Hepatitis ie.  A, B, C, D and E.
  • They all cause liver disease, they differ in important ways including modes of transmission, severity of the illness, geographical distribution and prevention methods
• Symptoms:
  • Hepatitis B: It  is known to cause acute infection with nausea, vomitting and yellowing of the eye and skin for several weeks.
  • Chronic Hepatitis:  It can cause life-long liver disease especially when children get it and can lead to scarring of the liver called cirrhosis and increase the risk of liver cancer. 
  • Hepatitis C: Symptoms occur  two to 12 weeks after exposure which include, yellow skin or eyes, loss of appetite, nausea, stomach ache, fever, dark urine, light-coloured stool, joint pain and exhaustion.
• Diagnosis and Treatment: The report says that only 2.4 per cent of the Hepatitis B cases were diagnosed and 0 per cent received treatment. For Hepatitis C,  28 per cent were being diagnosed and 21 per cent received treatment.
  • Hepatitis B can be prevented through vaccination and there is a need to ensure that all newborns receive complete vaccination and all adults should be offered, who were born before the vaccine was included in the national programme.
  • Hepatitis C is curable with medicines.
• Vaccination: Hepatitis B vaccine is offered to children under the Universal Immunisation Programme in India whereas, the government’s National viral hepatitis control programme also offers the vaccine to high-risk adults such as healthcare workers as well. 
  • Treatment for both Hepatitis B and C is available under the programme.
  • But the reach is limited. People have not been utilising the free diagnostics and treatment offered under the programme.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context

Recently, In response to a petition filed by an MLA from Arunachal Pradesh legislative assembly), Supreme court observed that Candidates are not required to disclose every item of moveable assets except “High value” asset, citing a candidate’s Right to privacy.

Candidates Need Not Disclose Every Moveable Property Owned By Them; Voters’ Right To Know Not Absolute: Supreme Court

• Background: A petition was filed by Arunachal Pradesh MLA Karikho Kri challenging the Gauhati High Court’s decision to nullify his election to the 44-Tezu Assembly Constituency. 
• Challenge against HC Ruling: Earlier High Court declared Kri’s victory void based on non-disclosure of vehicles registered as his assets in the affidavit filed under Form No 26 of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 as the sufficient to constitute the corrupt practice of ‘undue influence’ under section 123(2) of Representation of People’s Act, 1951.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

Movable and Immovable Assets 

• Movable Assets: Those Assets which can be easily moved from one place to another, for example, cars, jewellery and laptop, also called floating assets.
  • According to Section 2(9) of the Registration Act, 1908, movable properties also include timber, crops and grass, fruits, and fruit juice in trees. 
  • These can be easily divided to anyone. 
• Immovable Assets: The property which cannot be moved from one place to another also called as fixed assets, for example, a house, shop, factory, etc. 
  • According to Section 3(26) of the General Clauses Act, of 1897, immovable properties include land and other things attached to or permanently rooted in the earth.
  • Plants or trees affixed to the land also come under immovable assets.
  • These cannot be transferred to anyone without making a will or without gifting or partitioning.

Movable Asset Declaration by Election Candidates (Representation of People’s Act, 1951)

• Affidavit Filing Requirements: Individuals running for elections are obligated to submit an affidavit disclosing their criminal records, assets and liabilities, and educational qualifications.
• Post-Election Declarations: Upon being elected, Members of Parliament (MPs) must submit a declaration of their assets and liabilities to the Speaker of Lok Sabha and the Chairman of Rajya Sabha. & same in case of MLAs in states. 

Supreme Court Ruling

• Candidate’s Obligation on Disclosure of Moveable Asset: The Supreme Court ruled that a candidate’s decision to maintain privacy regarding irrelevant personal matters does not constitute a ‘corrupt practice’ under Section 123 of the Representation of People Act, 1951. 

• • SC clarified that such non-disclosure does not amount to a “defect of a substantial nature” under Section 36(4) of the RPA 1951. 
• Criteria for Assets Disclosure: The Court clarified that candidates aren’t required to declare every movable property unless it significantly impacts their asset value or reflects their lifestyle. 
  • For Example: Concealing the information about an expensive watch collection could be deemed a substantial defect, suppressing the value of simple, inexpensive watches may not amount to a defect at all. 
• Asset Declaration to Enhance Voter’s Participation : It emphasized that asset declaration serves to enhance democratic participation and the voters’ right to information, aiding them in making informed voting decisions. 
• Balanced Approach: The Court aimed to strike a balance between voters’ right to access relevant asset information and the candidate’s right to privacy, acknowledging that not every minor detail requires exposure to public scrutiny. 
  • Ultimately, each case must be evaluated based on its specific facts to determine the substantiality of asset non-disclosure.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes

Implication of Supreme Court Ruling

• Clarity on Disclosure Obligations: The Supreme Court’s decision offers clarity regarding the disclosure requirements for movable assets by election candidates. It elucidates the need for transparency while avoiding unnecessary burdens on candidates. 
• Balancing Transparency and Privacy: The ruling aims to strike a balance between the voters’ right to information and the candidates’ right to privacy. It ensures fair and well-informed electoral processes. 
• Reaffirming Electoral Principles: By overturning the High Court’s decision and validating Kri’s election win, the Supreme Court reaffirms that election challenges must be grounded in substantive issues related to the candidate’s eligibility and adherence to electoral laws.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context

An international team of researchers released the most comprehensive “three-dimensional” map of the universe.

• Findings from the first year of observations by the DESI: The findings from the first year of observations by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) have been published.

Key Findings From Observations

• Preparation of Detailed Map of Universe: Using Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) researchers have been able to measure light from six million galaxies to prepare the most detailed map of the universe yet with very precise information about the distances between these galaxies.
  • The distances between these galaxies have been measured with a very high degree of accuracy. Thus, it is called a three-dimensional map.
  • Knowing the precise distances of the galaxies is crucial because that allows us to calculate the expansion rate of the universe.
• Mapping of the Distribution and Movement of these Galaxies: The precise distances calculated have resulted in the mapping of the distribution and movement of these galaxies over time.
• • This has been done by comparing the data with similar data for some of the galaxies obtained through other experiments.
• Measurement of the Expansion Rate of the Universe:  The dark energy spectroscopic instrument collaboration has measured that the expansion rate of the universe was increasing by 68.5 km per second after every 3.26 million light years of distance, defined as megaparsec.
  • Through these precise measurements, the scientists have found that some of the calculated values are not consistent with current well-established theoretical models, which otherwise describe the universe very well.
• Change in Energy Density: The results from dark energy spectroscopic instrument suggest that there are changes in energy density in contrast to the theoretical models.
  • The theoretical models suggest that the energy density of dark energy, or the amount of dark energy contained in any volume of space, remains constant even under expansion. 
  • In these theoretical models, a change in energy density would make the universe unstable.
• Significance: Scientists expect that this could reveal some clues about dark energy.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI)

• About: Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is a unique piece of equipment that, once fitted over a telescope, can capture light from 5,000 galaxies at the same time. It is mounted over the Mayall 4-Meter Telescope in Arizona, United States.
• Scheduled Operation:  It is scheduled to run for five years. On March 31, DESI completed three years of operations.
• Joint Collaboration: DESI is a collaboration of more than 900 researchers in institutions across the world. From India, TIFR is the only participating institution.

The Hypothesis of Dark Energy

• About: Dark energy is the mysterious force that is believed to be causing the universe to expand uncontrollably.
• Expanding Universe: The hypothesis comes mainly from the observed phenomenon of the universe expanding at a rapid rate. 
  • The vast empty spaces between stars and galaxies have been measured to be expanding at an accelerating pace, despite the countervailing force of gravitation that has the effect of pulling things together. 
  • Scientists have been unable to find any explanation for this rapid expansion, and have been forced to hypothesize that there must be some “dark” energy causing this expansion.
• Significance: Understanding the nature of dark energy can offer key insights into the origin and evolution of the universe, as well as its eventual fate. 
  • It can reveal new fundamental forces at work, and could unravel our entire knowledge of the physical world. 

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes

Dark Energy Vs Dark Matter

• Composition of the Universe: Dark energy accounts for roughly 68 percent of the universe’s total mass and energy. Dark matter makes up 27 percent. 
  • The rest i.e., around 5 percent is all the regular matter we see and interact with every day.
• Dark matter: It makes up most of the mass of galaxies and galaxy clusters, and is responsible for the way galaxies are organized on grand scales. 
• Dark energy: It is the mysterious influence driving the accelerated expansion of the universe.
  • While dark matter attracts and holds galaxies together, dark energy repels and causes the expansion of our universe.
• Interaction with Gravity: Dark matter does interact with gravity, but it doesn’t reflect, absorb, or emit light. On the other hand, dark energy is a repulsive force — a sort of anti-gravity that drives the universe’s ever-accelerating expansion.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context

The set of “womenomics” reforms  implemented during the “Abenomics” era by Japan are now yielding positive outcomes.

Key Highlights On Japan’s Womenomics Reforms

• Increase in Women’s labor force participation rate (WLFPR): WLFPR in Japan has grown by ten percentage points, from 64.9 percent in 2013 to 75.2 per cent in 2023. 
  • This is not only the fastest growth in Japan’s WLFPR in the past few decades, but also the highest amongst the G7 countries in the last decade. 
  • The largest increase in WLFPR is in the 30-34, and 35-39 years age groups signaling the return of mothers to the workforce.
• Bridging Labour Shortages: Adding roughly three million women to its workforce is helping Japan bridge labor shortages. 
  • Estimates suggest this increase in WLFPR could have increased Japan’s GDP per capita by between 4 per cent to 8 per cent.
  • It’s no surprise that a majority of the “womenomics” reforms have been linked to investments in the care economy and rebalancing gender norms.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

Japan’s Womenomics Reforms/Rethinking Care Work and Responsibility

• Expansion of Daycare Capacity: The Japanese government’s investment to expand daycare capacity from 2.2 million in 2012 to 2.8 million in 2018 has reduced daycare waiting lists that would often run into years. 
  • In 2023, the government of Japan announced a further boost in investment of $26 billion for childcare measures between 2023 and 2026.
• Entitlement of Gender-neutral Parental leave: Japanese parents had been entitled to year-long partially paid parental leaves with women receiving 58 weeks, and men 52 weeks. 
  • In 2022, greater flexibility in paternity leave provisions was introduced, reducing notice periods, and allowing men to break up their paternity leave. 
  • Other measures include making disclosures of paternity leave uptake mandatory, introducing flexible work, and encouraging companies to demonstrate that taking paternity leave would not hamper career progression.
  • These have helped in boosting paternity leave uptake from 2 per cent in 2012, to 17 per cent in 2023.
• Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace, 2016: This made disclosures of diversity action plans and diversity data mandatory.
  • It led to the introduction of the “Eruboshi” certification, a five-star system recognising companies committed to workforce diversity. 
  • The certification has become aspirational among Japanese firms today, with the number of companies receiving the Eruboshi certificate growing from 815 in 2019, to 1905 in 2022.
• Gender Gaps in Unpaid Care: Among the G20 countries, India and Japan have the widest gender gaps in unpaid care.
  • Women perform about 8.4 times the amount of unpaid work in India valued at 15 per cent to 17 percent of GDP in contrast to 5.5 times in Japan valued at about a fifth of GDP.

Learnings For India

• Bridging the gender gaps in domestic and care work: Interventions for these have a significant impact on WLFPR. 
  • Japan saw its highest gains in WLFPR when it committed to long-term public investments in care infrastructure and services, especially childcare.
• Changing perception Around Social Norms: Changing people’s mindsets around social norms is as important as formulating progressive regulations. 
  • It is evident from the Japanese experience, legal entitlement to gender-neutral parental leave is not sufficient. 
  • Enhancing uptake among men requires an employer-led approach that dispels gender stereotypes around care work.
• Investment in care infrastructure and services solutions: It is essential to invest in a wide range of care infrastructure and services solutions — covering childcare, elder care, domestic work, and long-term care for highly dependent adults to reduce dependency and access the silver economy. 
  • For instance, Japan has leveraged some private sector partnerships for investments in affordable senior living and care services. 
  • As the share of elderly persons in India’s population is expected to rise from 10 per cent currently to 20 per cent by 2050, India will need to prioritise elder care infrastructure and service investments.

What Is Womenomics?

• Genesis: Womenomics was started by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.  However, originally the term was introduced in a report published by the chief Japan strategist Kathy Matsui and her Team in 1999. 
  • The report was published in Goldman Sachs’ Global Investment Research Division titled as ‘ Womenomics: Buy the Female Economy’
• About: It is a policy based on the idea that a country can boost its economy by getting more women into the workforce and their empowerment. They are rewarded with jobs and salaries that match their skills, talents, and ambitions. 

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes

Why Is Womenomics Important?

• Traditionally Divided Roles: Usually, the traditional role for men is to earn while the woman takes care of the home and the family. 
  • In societies that follow this system- men bear the complete burden of earning money for the whole family.
• No Recognition of Women’s Role: Women are capable of contributing in society but due to the restriction and usual social norms their education, skill, and economic contribution never get the reward and compensation.
  • Families are important but the role of women in economics can not be ignored.

Progress On Womenomics in India

• Unpaid Care Work: Most of the work done by women remains unpaid in the house and in supporting families as women are expected to take care of the families without being paid.
• Huge Pay Gap: Gender Pay gap is substantial, and yet women don’t get equal pay for equal work. 

Challenges in India

• Cultural Hurdles: The country has cultural hurdles where roles assigned to women are keeping them away from contributing to society. 
• Relationship of LFPR with Women and Education: The LFPR pattern shows U shaped relationship with women. As women get more education, the LFPR initially falls i.e., they are restricted at home.  
• Lack of Social Benefits: Many women work in low-productive jobs often without social benefits. Women don’t join jobs because of a lack of suitable jobs and lack of marketable skills.

Reasons For Low Female Participation in India

According to an OECD paper,  key determinants of low participation of women in the job market in India are: 

• South and west India: Impact of socioeconomic factors. 
• East India: Domination of cultural factors. Ex-Nagaland, where the state government tried to provide 33 percent reservation for women and due to protest the bill could not be passed in the state.  
• Stringent labor laws discourage women’s participation.

Five-Pillar Strategy to Unlock Business Opportunities in India’s Care Economy

• Gender neutral and paternity leave policies
• Subsidies for availing/providing care services
• Enhancing investments from both the public and private sector in care infrastructure and services
• Skill training for care workers
• Quality assurance for care services and infrastructure.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

Conclusion

After nearly declining continuously for five decades, India’s WFLPR has begun showing a rising trend, increasing from 23 per cent in 2017-18 to 37 per cent in 2022-23. 

• To keep this momentum going, a continued long-term focus on the care economy is needed for unleashing #NariShakti to achieve a Viksit Bharat @2047.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context

Recently, Nobel laureate and noted Physicist Peter Higgs, known for predicting God’s Particle has passed away.

Peter Higgs- the father of God Particle

• God Particle: In the 1960s, Peter Higgs carried out research using Bose-Einstein Statistics. 
  • He wrote a paper about a very unstable particle that survives for a fraction of a second after its birth, and then it breaks apart producing other fundamental particles. He called this particle “Higgs Boson Particle” or “God Particle”.
• In 2012, Scientists at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research, located on the Swiss-French border in Switzerland) had found ‘Higgs Boson’ using the Large Hadron Collider, which is a 27 km long  particle accelerator built to study fundamental particles. 
• Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013 : He was awarded for his work, alongside Francois Englert of Belgium, who independently came with the same theory.
  • This Theory is related to how subatomic particles that are building blocks of matter get their mass.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

What is a Higgs Boson? 

• It is one of the 17 fundamental particles that constitutes the Standard Model of  Physics,which describes the physics of how the universe is constructed.

• The Higgs boson, a type of boson, is a force-carrying subatomic particle.
  • It carries the force that a particle experiences when traversing the Higgs field (a universal energy field),which is responsible for granting fundamental particles their mass.
• A particle’s mass is directly correlated with its interaction strength with the Higgs boson.
  • Therefore, Electrons possess a specific mass, while protons have more, and neutrons slightly surpass protons.
• A Higgs boson can also interact with another Higgs boson — this is how we know that its mass is greater than that of protons or neutrons.
• Features: 
  • The Higgs Boson has a mass of 125 billion electron volts, approximately 130 times more massive than protons.
  • It is also chargeless with zero spin,a quantum mechanical equivalent to angular momentum. 
  • It is only elementary particles with no spin.
• Significance of Higgs Boson Study : Researchers aspire to employ the Higgs Boson as a mechanism for learning deeper into the mysteries of the cosmos, including the enigma of dark matter.

Standard Model of Particle Physics

• The Standard Model of Particle Physics is scientists’ current best theory to describe the most basic building blocks of the universe. 
• It explains how particles called quarks (which make up protons and neutrons) and leptons (which include electrons) make up all known matter. 
• It also explains how force carrying particles, which belong to a broader group of bosons, influence the quarks and leptons. 
• The Standard Model explains three of the four fundamental forces that govern the universe: electromagnetism, the strong force, and the weak force. 
  • Electromagnetism is carried by photons and involves the interaction of electric fields and magnetic fields. 
  • The strong force, which is carried by gluons, binds together atomic nuclei to make them stable. 
  • The weak force, carried by W and Z bosons, causes nuclear reactions that have powered our Sun and other stars for billions of years. 
  • The fourth fundamental force is gravity, which is not adequately explained by the Standard Model.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes

Recent Experiment of Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

• LHC generated a Higgs boson by colliding together billions of high-energy protons which resulted in a release of immense energy that forms various particles. 

• • Being heavy, the Higgs boson is unstable and breaks down into lighter particles. 
  • It can decay into a lepton pair and a photon in three different ways. 
• Recent evidence indicates Higgs Boson Decay: It says that a Higgs boson will decay to a Z boson and a photon 0.1% of the time. 
  • This means the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) needed to have created at least 1,000 Higgs bosons to have been able to spot one of them decaying to a Z boson and a photon.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context

The 2024 QS World University Rankings by Subject have been released recently.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

Key Findings of 2024 QS World University Rankings 

• Status of Indian Universities: A total of 69 Indian universities made it to the rankings with 424 entries across all subjects. It was 19.4 percent higher than the previous year’s 355 entries.
  • With this, India became the second most represented country in Asia after China whose 101 institutions were on the list.
• Status in Asian Region: In the broader Asian region, India secured the second spot in terms of the number of universities featured behind China which had 101 universities in the list.
• Increase in Research Output: From 2017 to 2022, its research output increased by 54 per cent.
• This increase is more than double the global average and significantly exceeds the output of its more Western peers.
  • In terms of volume, India is now the world’s fourth-largest producer of research, generating 1.3 million academic papers in this period.
  • It is behind only China’s 4.5 million, the United States’ 4.4 million, and slightly less than the United Kingdom’s 1.4 million.
• Research Impact: India is about to surpass the UK in terms of research productivity based on its current trajectory. India, however, comes in ninth place worldwide for the 2017–2022 period when it comes to research impact as determined by the number of citations. 
• Indian University rankings: The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) emerged as the highest ranked Indian university in the list with rank 20 under the subject of Development Studies. 
  • JNU was also the country’s top-ranked university in the subjects of Geography, History, Modern Languages, Politics & International Relations, Anthropology, English Language & Literature and Linguistics.
  • Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad emerged as the next best rank of 22nd in the subject of Business & Management Studies. Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore stood the first spot in the Accounting & Finance subject.
  • The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB) secured 25th rank in the subject of Engineering-Mineral & Mining.
  • Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM) secured 29th spot in Petroleum Engineering.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context

Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has deployed its sub-metre resolution optical satellite, TSAT-1A, into space. 

SpaceX Bandwagon 1 (Dedicated Mid-Inclination Rideshare)

• It is SpaceX’s first dedicated rideshare mission launched into a mid-inclination orbit.
• Other Mission: Alongside TSAT-1A, the Bandwagon-1 mission had 11 other spacecraft.
  • These are  Korea’s 425Sat, HawkEye 360’s Clusters 8 & 9, Tyvak International’s CENTAURI-6, iQPS’s QPS-SAR-7 TSUKUYOMI-II, and Capella Space’s Capella-14.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

About TSAT-1A

• TSAT-1A is a sub-metre resolution optical satellite.
• Developed by: Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) in collaboration with Satellogic. 
• It has been  successfully deployed into space by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket  as part of the Bandwagon-1 mission.  
  • It was launched from Kennedy Space centre, Florida.
  • It was assembled at TASL’s Assembly, Integration, and Testing plant located at its Vemagal facility in Karnataka, India.

• Features

  • The satellite offers 
    • High-Resolution Optical Images
    • Sub-meter resolution for capturing detailed imagery of Earth’s surface.
    • Enhanced collection capacity for gathering more data.
    • Wider dynamic range for capturing details in both bright and dark areas.
    • Low-latency delivery for faster access to captured images.
  • TSAT-1A has multispectral and hyperspectral capabilities. 
    • It is helpful in enhancing its earth observation functionalities.
      • Its remote sensing offers information about minerals or vegetation of the surfaces on the Earth. 
  • TSAT-1A Specifications:
    • Weight and Orbit: It weighs less than 50 kg and  is positioned in a low-earth orbit.
    • Inclined Orbit Benefits: Its inclined orbit configuration enables more frequent revisits to specific areas compared to the Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit (SSPO).

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes

Applications of TSAT-1A

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context

Aadhaar-based age tokens can solve privacy problem as per experts.

What is Section 9 of Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023?

• About: Section 9  imposes an obligation on all data fiduciaries to obtain a parent’s verifiable consent before they process the personal data of a child. 
• Confirmation by Businesses: Before collecting any personal data, businesses will have to ascertain whether the person to whom it relates is a child or not.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

Issues with Section 9 of Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023

• Verification of Age of Every person: Data fiduciaries will have to verify the age of every person they interact with.
  • In an entirely online world, there is no way to do this without introducing friction and exposing more personal information than is advisable.
• Targeting With Algorithms: Data businesses will get an excuse to legally collect information on us that can, better than anything else, uniquely target us with their algorithms.

Solutions to Protect Privacy

• Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs): The use zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), which are cryptographic computational techniques that mathematically confirm a given fact without disclosing the personal information will have to be used
• Generating Zero Knowledge Proofs: It will take is for us to generate a digital token that, when processed using a ZKP, will confirm that the person is above the prescribed age without sharing any other personal information
• Protection through Aadhar: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will generate a token for each Aadhaar-holder that could, when passed through a suitable ZKP system, confirm whether or not the possessor of that token is above the prescribed age.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context

Researchers at the University of Kerala have devised an eco-friendly fuel cell that generates power mainly using air and seawater.

Seawater as fuel? – Kerala University Researchers Develop Fuel from Air and Seawater

• Publication of Technology in International Journal: Details of the ‘Air breathing Magnesium – Copper / Cupric Oxide Fuel Cell‘ have appeared in the peer-reviewed international publication ‘Journal of Engineering and Applied Science’ recently.
• Potential Replacement of Lithium-ion batteries: The technology used is expected to be disruptive as Lithium-ion batteries which are the present market leaders are set to be overtaken by Magnesium based fuel cells that deliver higher power output.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

Air Breathing Magnesium- Sodium Chloride Based Fuel Cell

• About:  A semiconducting layer of Cupric Oxide grown over Copper substrate was used in a Magnesium- Sodium Chloride based fuel cell. 
• Cost Effective: In this fuel cell,  semiconductor material has been used for air cathode systems making the cell cost effective as compared to use of expensive chemical element Platinum around the world.
• Environment Friendly: The fuel cell is promoted as environmentally friendly since it operates by utilizing air for breathing and saline water as fuel. 
• During its operation, the cell generates only electricity and heat, emitting only water as a byproduct.

What is a Fuel Cell?

• About: A fuel cell is a device that generates electricity through an electrochemical reaction, not combustion. 
  • In a fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen are combined to generate electricity, heat, and water. 
• Advantages: Fuel cell systems are a clean, efficient, reliable, and quiet source of power. Fuel cells do not need to be periodically recharged like batteries, but instead continue to produce electricity as long as a fuel source is provided. 
• Applications: Providing power to homes and businesses, keeping critical facilities like hospitals, grocery stores, and data centers up and running, and moving a variety of vehicles including cars, buses, trucks, forklifts, trains, and more.  

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context

According to the Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2024, India for the first time recorded a decline in unicorn creation since 2017.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

Key Findings Of Global Unicorn Index 2024

• Number of Unicorns in India: India in 2023 had 67 unicorns, which is one less than 68 number of startups in 2022.
• Reason for Decrease: The slowdown is mainly due to lack of investment into start-ups.
• By industry, fintech had 24 per cent of all unicorns outside the US and China.
• e-commerce had a 15 per cent share. 
• SaaS and blockchain each had a 7 per cent share in the total unicorn tally outside the US and China while AI had a 5 per cent share.
• Prominence of Offshore Unicorn Production: India produced more offshore unicorns than any other country, co-founding 109 unicorns outside of India compared to 67 in India.
• • Of the unicorns founded outside of India, mostly were in the US (95), led by the Bay Area, with 4 in the UK, 3 in Singapore and 2 in Germany.
• Global Status:  There are a total of 1,453 unicorns worldwide, spanning 53 countries and 291 cities. 
  • The US led the list with 703 unicorns, China had 340 unicorns. 
  • UK and EU ranked No 4 and No 5 in the list, respectively. 
  • The US has half of the world‟s known unicorns, led by SaaS, FinTech and AI.
  • China and India have a higher percentage of Cheetahs, Gazelles and Unicorns, which over the course of the next five years ought to translate into a higher percentage of Hurun Global 500s.
• Ranking by City: By city, Bengaluru was ranked seventh with 32 unicorns and Mumbai ranked 19th with 14 unicorns. 
• San Francisco with 190 unicorns, New York with 133 unicorns and Beijing with 78 unicorns were the leading unicorn hubs in the world.
• Spinoffs from a larger company: 5% of the Global Unicorns Index are spinoffs from a larger company, with the core business a startup in the 2000s. 
  • Example- fintech Ant Group, which was a spin off in 2004 of the online payments business Alipay from the much bigger Alibaba Group.
• 2024 as the year of AI: The year 2024 has been marked as “the year of AI”, with OpenAI‘s valuation reaching $100 billion. 
  • The World‟s 10 most valuable unicorns made up half of all new value increases, led by OpenAI, up $80bn in value to US$100bn and SpaceX, up $43 billion to $180 billion.

What is a Unicorn?

• About: A “unicorn” is a privately-owned startup business worth more than $1 billion. 
  • The term was first coined by venture capitalist Aileen Lee in 2013.
  •  Cheetahs’ are valued between $200 million and $500 million whereas ‘gazelles’ are valued between $500 million and $1 billion
• Examples: Some popular unicorns include SpaceX, Robinhood, and Instacart.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes

Features of a Unicorn Startup

• Disruptive Innovation: Mostly, all the unicorns have brought a disruption in the field they belong to. For example: Uber changed the way people commuted and Airbnb changed the way people planned their stay while travelling.
• The ‘Firsts’: Unicorns are mostly the starters in their industry. They change the way people do things and gradually create a necessity for themselves. 
  • They are seen to keep innovation up and running to stay ahead of competitors which might later boom.
• High on Tech:  Their business model runs on tech. Uber got their model accepted by crafting a friendly app. Airbnb made the world seem smaller by making the best of the world wide web. 
• Consumer-Focused: 62% of the unicorns are B2C companies. Their goal is to simplify and make things easy for consumers and be a part of their day to day life. 
  • Keeping things affordable is another key highlight of these startups. Spotify, for example, made listening to music easier to the world. 
• Privately Owned:  Most of the unicorns are privately owned which gets their valuation bigger when an established company invests in it. 

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context

Recently, the ‘India Employment Report 2024’ has been released by the Institute for Human Development (IHD) and International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Crucial Insights of the India Employment Report 2024

• On Employment Quality:

  • Rise in Informal Employment: It has risen, around half the jobs in the formal sector are of an informal nature. 
    • Self-employment and unpaid family work has also increased, especially for women. 
    • Almost 82% of the workforce is engaged in the informal sector, and nearly 90% is informally employed.
  • Preference: Regular employment is generally seen as providing better-quality jobs due to the regularity of employment and associated social security benefits, while casual work is linked with relatively poor-quality jobs due to its irregular nature and lower daily earnings.
    • Self-employment remains the primary source of employment (55.8% in 2022). Casual and regular employment accounted for 22.7% and 21.5% respectively.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

• Structural Transformation:

  • Non-farm Employment: There has been a reversal of the slow transition towards non-farm employment after 2018-19. The share of agriculture in total employment fell to around 42% in 2019 from 60% in 2000.
  • Employment in Secondary & Tertiary Sectors: The non-farm shift was largely absorbed by construction and services, the share of which in total employment increased to 32% in 2019 from 23% in 2000. The share of manufacturing in employment has remained almost stagnant at 12-14%.

• On Education & Employment:

  • Kerala has a highly educated labour force (30% of the labour force are graduates) and faces high unemployment. 
    • Gujarat and Maharashtra have a relatively lower share of graduates in their labour force (roughly 14% and 20% respectively) and hence have lower unemployment in spite of being richer and urbanised.
  • Probable Factors: Mismatching and lacking in required skills, high aspirations by graduates seeking high-wage and inadequate state policy.

• Youth Employment:

• • Poor Conditions: There has been a rise in youth employment, but the quality of work remains a concern, especially for qualified young workers.
    • Example: In 2022, the share of unemployed youths in the total unemployed population was 82.9%. 
      • However, youth employment and underemployment increased between 2000 and 2019 but declined during the pandemic years. 
  • Unemployment Rate among Educated Youths: Unemployment among youths, especially those with secondary-level or higher education, has intensified over time.
    • Example: The unemployment rate among youths was six times higher for those who had completed secondary education or higher (18.4%) and nine times higher for graduates (29.1%) than for persons who could not read or write (3.4%) in 2022. 
  • In 2022, the proportion of youths not in employment, education, or training remained high, at 28.5%.

• Participation of Women:

• • Low Count: The female labour force participation rate (LFPR) in India remains among the world’s lowest. 
    • Female LFPR declined by 14.4% points (compared to 8.1% points for males) between 2000 and 2019. But, the trend reversed thereafter, with female LFPR rising by 8.3% points (compared to 1.7% points for male LFPR) between 2019 and 2022.

• • Widening Gender Gap: Women’s LFPR (32.8%) in 2022 was 2.3 times lower than men’s (77.2%). 
    • India’s low LFPR is largely due to the low female LFPR, which was much lower than the world average of 47.3% in 2022, but higher than the South Asian average of 24.8%.
  • Unemployment Rate among Educated Women Youths: This was higher among educated young women (21.4%) than men (17.5%), especially among female graduates (34.5%), compared to men (26.4%).
    • Among the educated (secondary level or higher) unemployed youths, women accounted for a larger share (76.7%) than men (62.2%). 

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes

• Growing Social Inequalities:

• • Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have greater participation in work due to economic necessity but engaged more in low-paid temporary casual wage work and informal employment. 
  • Despite improvement in educational attainment among all groups, the hierarchy within social groups persists.

Unemployment in Indian States- A Regional Difference

• Basis: Among individuals aged 15 and above as measured by the Usual Principal and Subsidiary Status (UPSS), utilising data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) of 2022-23. Coverage: This analysis looks at unemployment in the major States of India (excluding the Union Territories).
  • Manipur is not included since field work was not completed owing to the conflict. 

• Findings: Out of the 27 States considered, 12 States have unemployment rates less than the national average (3.17%). 
  • Low unemployment rates in larger States (3% in Maharashtra, 2.4% in Uttar Pradesh and 1.6% in Madhya Pradesh) bring down the national average. 
  • But this presents a conundrum, barring Maharashtra and Gujarat, many States with unemployment rates lower than the national average also have per capita incomes lesser than the national average.
    • An Indicator, not a Measurement: Since the coverage of smaller States in the overall sample is less compared to larger States, these estimates should not be taken as definitive measurements but as indicators of the important factors driving unemployment.
• Regional Disparities:
  • Goa has the highest unemployment rate (almost 10%) and is more than three times the national average (3.17%). 
    • Interestingly, 4 of the top 5 Unemployment facing States (Goa, Kerala, Haryana and Punjab) are comparatively richer states. 
  • All northern States (Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh) have unemployment rates higher than the national average, as do all southern States with the exception of Karnataka.
  • The rich States of western India (Maharashtra and Gujarat) experience unemployment rates far less than the national average. 

The Determinants of Unemployment

• Relationship between Unemployment Rates and the Share of the Labour Force in Self-employment: In States where a large proportion of the labour force is engaged in self-employment, the unemployment rate is low.
  • Since a bulk of the self-employment in India is of the informal variety, States with a large proportion of informal work would find it easy to absorb a large number of job-seekers. 
    • Yet it is unclear whether this relationship is cause or effect. 
• Informal Self-employment Sector: A large proportion of informal self-employment is accounted for by agriculture and the rural economy.
• • Urbanised States have smaller agrarian and agrarian-dependent sectors and hence have a relatively smaller source of informal jobs available. 
  • While informal sectors do exist and thrive in urban settings, the scope for the absorption of job-seekers is limited as compared to rural agriculture, which often acts as a ‘reserve’ absorbing surplus labour.

Causes of Unemployment in India

• Various Factors: Unemployment in India is influenced by diverse factors such as demographic challenges, economic differences in rural and urban areas, limited job creation, high youth unemployment, gender economic divide, the informal sector, and skill-job mismatch, etc.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

Concerns Associated with High Unemployment in India

• Poor Employment Conditions in India: Even as overall labour force participation, workforce participation and employment rates improved in India in recent years after showing long-term deterioration during 2000-2019, the employment conditions remain poor.
• Challenging Conditions for Youth & Women: Two out of every three unemployed individuals was a young graduate and women largely account for the increase in self-employment and unpaid family work.
  • Youth employment is of poorer quality than employment for adults, with a higher proportion of unpaid family work among youth than adults along with stagnant or declining wages and earnings.
• Challenges for Gig Workers: The lack of job security, irregular wages, and uncertain employment status for workers pose significant challenges for gig or platform work.
• Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI): The rise of AI could have an impact on employment, the outsourcing industry in India could be disrupted because some back-office tasks would be taken over by AI.
• Deepening Regional Disparities: The ‘employment condition index’ has improved between 2004-05 and 2021-22. But some states (Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, and UP) have remained at the bottom throughout this period, while some others (Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Gujarat) have stayed at the top.
• Social Inequalities: As per the report, despite affirmative action and targeted policies, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes still lag in terms of access to better jobs. 
• High Population Size: India’s rising population provides competition for employment opportunities and puts additional pressure on the job market.

• Skills Mismatch: With increasing use of technology and AI, skill mismatch presents one of the predominant causes for unemployment in India.
• Dependency on Agriculture: As per Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), agriculture, with its allied sectors, is the largest source of livelihoods in India. 
  • 70% of its rural households still depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihood.
• External Factors: Influences from the global economy, such as trade dynamics and geopolitical shifts, can impact India’s employment scenario. 

Way Forward to the Increase Employment Opportunities 

• Call for Action: There are five key policy areas for further action- promoting job creation, improving employment quality, addressing labour market inequalities, strengthening skills and active labour market policies, and bridging the knowledge deficits on labour market patterns and youth employment.
• Support to Enterprises: More support needs to be provided to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, especially by providing tools such as digitalisation and AI and a cluster-based approach to manufacturing.
• Collaborative Approach: A larger and more targeted role for state governments and stronger partnerships with the private sector and other stakeholders is also needed, along with greater contribution by the private and non-state sector.
• Harnessing the potential of Digitalisation & Technology: Initiatives such as promoting digital literacy, supporting digital platforms for gig economy work, and fostering technology-driven sectors like e-commerce and fintech can create jobs and empower a digitally skilled workforce.
• Strengthening Education & Industry Collaboration: Collaboration between educational institutions and industries can lead to the development of curriculum aligned with industry needs, internship programs, and vocational training tie-ups. 
  • This would equip students with practical skills and improve their employability.
• Promoting Skill Development & Vocational Training: Investing in skill development and vocational training is crucial to enhance employability. It would equip individuals with industry-relevant skills, making them more employable.
• Encouraging Entrepreneurship & Startups: Promoting entrepreneurship can create new job opportunities and stimulate economic growth. 
  • The government can establish incubation centres, provide financial incentives, and simplify regulatory procedures for startups. It will generate employment and foster a culture of self-reliance.
• Policy Interventions: Economic policies are required to boost productive non-farm employment, especially in the manufacturing sector, with India likely to add 7-8 million youths annually to the labour force during the next decade.
  • With a higher rate of urbanisation and migration expected in India, an inclusive urban policy is required to address the needs of migrants, women and impoverished young people.
  • Skills development and active labour market policies (ALMPs) need a more effective role in bridging the supply-demand gap in jobs and in making the overall labour market more inclusive. 
  • Recently, the government has fast-tracked the proposed National Employment Policy (NEP), which aims at formalisation of the country’s 500 million workforce including migrants to ensure job and social security.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes

DOWNLOAD PDF