In News

The Global Gender Gap Index for 2022 was released by the World Economic Forum (WEF), and it ranks India at 135 out of 146 countries.

About the Gender Gap Index

• The index benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions:
  • Economic Participation and Opportunity
  • Educational Attainment
  • Health and Survival
  • Political Empowerment
• On each of the four sub-indices as well as on the overall index the GGG index provides scores between 0 and 1, where 1 shows full gender parity and 0 is complete imparity.

Global results and time to parity

• In 2022, the global gender gap has been closed by 68.1%.
• At the current rate of progress, it will take 132 years to reach full parity globally. (155 years to close the Political Empowerment gender gap, 151 years for the Economic Participation and Opportunity gender gap, and 22 years for the Educational Attainment gender gap.)
• Across the 146 countries covered by the 2022 index, the Health and Survival gender gap has closed by 95.8%, Educational Attainment by 94.4%, Economic Participation and Opportunity by 60.3% and Political Empowerment by 22%.
• Although no country has yet achieved full gender parity, the top 10 economies have closed at least 80% of their gender gaps, with Iceland (90.8%) leading the global ranking.
• WEF noted that the progress toward gender parity has been halted and even reversed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Women have borne the brunt of the recession, widely dubbed the 'shecession', largely because they work in sectors that were most impacted, such as retail and hospitality.

Key findings for India:

• India has approximately 662 million (or 66.2 crore) women.
• In 2022, India’s overall score has improved from 0.625 (in 2021) to 0.629.
• Key dimension for India:

• • Political Empowerment (percentage of women in Parliament, the percentage of women in ministerial positions etc): India’s score on this metric has worsened since last year – from 0.276 to 0.267, but India’s score is above the global average in this category.
  • Economic Participation and Opportunity (percentage of women who are part of the labour force, wage equality for similar work, earned income etc.): India ranks poorly (143) although score has improved from 2021. India’s score is much lower than the global average, and only Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan are behind India on this metric.
  • Educational Attainment (literacy rate and the enrolment rates in primary, secondary and tertiary education.): India’s score has marginally worsened since last year.
  • Health and Survival (the sex ratio at birth (in %) and healthy life expectancy (in years).): India’s score hasn’t changed but India is ranked the last (146) among all the countries.

Sources:

• Explained: How gender equal is India as per the 2022 Global Gender Gap Index?
• India ranks 135 out of 146 in Global Gender Gap Index
• India Ranks 135 in Global Gender Gap Report, Worst in Health and Survival
• Global Gender Gap Report 2022: Key Findings
• Global Gender Gap Report 2022

In News

Following the recent split in a political party in Maharashtra, the party has urged the Election Commission to hear its side before deciding any claims to the party's symbol.

Understanding Election Symbols and Legal provisions associated with them

• An electoral or election symbol is a standardized symbolallocated to a political party.
• They are used by the parties during their campaigningand are depicted on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), where the voter chooses the symbol before voting for the associated party.

• They were introduced with an objective to facilitate voting by illiterates, who find it difficult to read the name of the party while casting their votes.
• In the 1960s, it was proposed that the regulation, reservation and allotment of electoral symbolsshould be done through a law of Parliament, i.e. Symbol Order.
• In a response to this proposal, the ECI stated that the recognition of political parties and their corresponding symbols, will be supervised by the provisions of Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
• The Election Commission registers political parties for the purpose of elections and grants them recognition as national or state parties on the basis of their poll performance. The other parties are simply declared as registered-unrecognised parties.
• Therecognition determines their right to certain privileges like allocation of the party symbols, provision of time for political broadcasts on television and radio stations and access to electoral rolls.
• Every national party and every state party is allotted a symbol exclusively reservedfor its use throughout the country and the states respectively.

Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968

• Paragraph 15 of the Order empowers the Election commission to decide disputesamong rival groups or sections of a recognised political party staking claim to its name and symbol.
• The EC is the only authority to decide issueson a dispute or a merger under the order.  
  • The Supreme Court upheld its validity in Sadiq Ali and another vs. ECI in 1971.
• This applies to disputes in recognised national and state parties.
• For splits in registered but unrecognised parties, the EC usually advises the groups/factions that have friction between towards each other to resolve their differences internally or to approach the court.
  • In almost all disputes decided by the EC so far, a clear majority of party delegates/office bearers, MPs and MLAshave supported one of the factions.
• Before 1968, the EC issued notifications and executive orders under the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
• The splinter group of the party- other than the group that got the party symbol - had to register itself as a separate party.
  • They could lay claim to national or state party status only on the basis of its performance in state or central elections after registration.

Source:

• Explained: As Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde battle over Shiv Sena symbol, how will EC decide?
• Explained: When parties split, how does EC decide who gets the symbol?

Image source:

• Uttarakhand: Champawat bypoll on May 31, result on June 3

In News

As per the “Youth in India 2022” report, India’s favourable demographic dividend is at an inflection point, with the population share of the youth starting to taper off even as the share of the elderly is expected to steadily surge during 2021-2036.

About the news

• This report has been released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
• The Demographic dividend mentioned in the report occurs when the proportion of working people in the total population is high.
  • A sustained drop in fertility has led to an increased concentration of the population at working ages (between 25 and 64 years) and this shift in the age distribution provides a time-bound opportunity for accelerated economic growth known as the “Demographic dividend”

Key highlights of the Report

• Youth population projected to decline:
  • The report noted that youth in the age group of 15-29 years comprising 27.2% of the population for 2021, is expected to decrease to 22.7% by 2036.
  • The total youth population increased from 222.7 million in 1991 to 333.4 million in 2011 and is projected to reach 4 million by 2021.
  • Thereafter, the number will decrease to 345.5 million by 2036.

• Likely Increase in the Share of the elderly
  • The proportion of elderly population to the total population has increased to 9.2% in 2016 and is projected to reach 14.9% in 2036.
  • States such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh are projected to see a higher elderly population than the youth by 2036.
• Projections for states
  • Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have experienced a rise in proportion of youth population to total population till 2021 which is expected to start declining.
  • These two states, along with Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, are projected to have 52% of the country’s youth.

• Projected increase in demand for the healthcare facilities and welfare programmes for elderly people
  • A greater proportion of youth at present will result in a greater proportion of elderly in the population in future.
  • This will create a demand for better healthcare facilities and development of welfare schemes/programmes for elderly people.
  • The rise in the share of elderly population will put pressure on social security and public welfare systems.
  • The next 4-5 years need to be utilised well to accelerate productive job creation.

Youths: Who are they?

• There is no universally agreed international definition of the youth age group.
• However, the United Nations defines ‘youth’ as those persons between the age of 15 and 24 years.
• In India, as per National Youth Policy-2003, ‘youth’ was defined as a person of age between 13-35 years.
• But the National Youth Policy 2014, considers the persons between the age group of 15 and 29 years as youth.
  • The National Youth Policy, 2014 (NYP-2014) reiterates the commitment of the entire nation to all-round development of the youth of India, so that they can realize their full potential and contribute productively to the nation-building process.

Source:

• India’s demography at crossroads: Elderly may outnumber the youth
• Youth in India 2022

Image source:

• India’s demography at crossroads: Elderly may outnumber the youth

On July 14, 1856 Gopal Ganesh Agarkar was born, in Satara, Maharashtra. He was a social worker and also gained fame as a journalist. He was a classmate of the famous freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He also started a weekly called ‘Sudhakar’. Gopal Ganesh Agarkar Ji was made the headmaster of Fergusson College, Pune in the year 1892 and then he remained in this post till the end. He conceptualised the New English School, the Deccan Education Society, and Fergusson College (along with Tilak). Mill’s Subjection of Women, which states that the standard of a given society is indicated by the position of women, was central to his advocacy for social reform.

Source:

• Gopal Ganesh Agarkar is Maharashtra’s forgotten ‘apostle of rationalism’. Look beyond Tilak:

• Context: Scientists have found that cancer-causing virus Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) can infect the neuronal cells and drive various changes in biomolecules such as fatty acids, carbohydrates, and protein components, leading to diseases of the central nervous system as well as brain cancer.

• The Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), is one of the nine known human herpesvirus and was the first virus linked to human cancers for more than 50 years.
• It is a double-stranded DNA virus and is best known as the cause of infectious mononucleosis ("mono" or "glandular fever").
• It is also associated with various non-malignant, and malignant diseases such as Burkitt lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma; gastric cancer
• Infection with EBV occurs by the oral transfer of saliva and genital secretions.
• No vaccine has been so far effective against the EBV virus.

Source:

• Connecting the dots between virus infection and progress of brain cancer
• Epstein Barr Virus (EBV)

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• Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) antibody test

• Context: The Gujarat forest department has taken measures to restore 10,000 hectares of the Banni grasslands in the coming year, and every year in the coming decade.
• Banni is the largest grassland of Asiasituated near the Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.
• It is spread over 2,618 kilometresand accounts for almost 45% of the pastures in Gujarat spread across 8 districts.

• It has two ecosystems namely wetlands and grasslands mixed side by side.
• Vegetation in Banni is sparse and highly dependent on rainfall.
• It is dominated by low-growing plants, forbs and graminoids, many of which are halophiles (salt tolerant), as well as scattered tree cover and scrub.
• The area is rich in flora and fauna,with 192 species of plants, 262 species of birds, several species of mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
• In 1955, the court notified that the grassland will be a reserve forest(the most restricted forests classified according to the Indian Forest Act 1927. 
• Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has identified this grassland reserve as one of the last remaining habitats of the cheetah in Indiaand a possible reintroduction site for the species.

Source:

• Restoring Banni grasslands, Gujarat battles invasive tree species
• Gujarat to restore 76,000 hectares of Banni grasslands

Image source:

• Banni grasslands

• Context: Ghana has recently reported its first-ever suspected case of Marburg virus disease.
• Marburg virus disease is a highly virulent disease that causes haemorrhagic fever,and it is carried by bats with a fatality ratio of up to 88%.
• It belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease.

• The disease was identified and recognised when two large outbreakshad occurred simultaneously in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany, and in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1967.
• The outbreak was associated with laboratory work using African green monkeys(Cercopithecus aethiops) imported from Uganda.
• Human infection with the virus initially results from prolonged exposure to mines or caves inhabited by Rousettus bat colonies.
• Once an individual is infected with the virus, Marburg can spread through human-to-human transmission via direct contactwith the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials contaminated with these fluids.
• The symptoms of the disease vary from mild Headache, vomiting blood, etc to severe like jaundice,inflammation of the pancreas, massive haemorrhaging, and multi-organ dysfunction.
• The diagnosis of this disease is difficult and there is no specific treatment or approved vaccine for Marburg hemorrhagic fever. 

Source:

• Ghana reports first-ever suspected cases of Marburg virus disease
• Marburg virus disease

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• Marburg virus disease

• Context: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s name name has come under intense criticism from the LGBTQ community.
• The telescope has been named after James Webb, who ran the US space agency from 1961 to 1968, and allegedly had a role to play in the “Lavender Scare” at NASA.

• The Lavender Scare was the marginalisation of LGBTQ employees working in the US government’s offices during the 1950s and 1960s.
• It is often described as a “witch-hunt”, where those suspected of being from the LGBTQ community were fired from their jobs.
• The common perception at the time of those in the US administration, and in society at large, was that homosexuality and queerness were linked to a lack of morals or perversion.
• James Webb, as the head of NASA during that period, is alleged to have played a role in the dismissal of LGBTQ employees for their identity.

Source:

• Explained: What was the ‘Lavender Scare’, how is it linked to NASA’s James Webb?

Essence: India is going to elect its new President on 18th July. It is said that the Indian President is a nominal figurehead. Author differs with this view. He points out that the President is elected by the people of India, though indirectly through representatives elected by them. This gives our President a moral authority even though the Constitution says that the President should act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.

Article says that using his power to ask the Government to reconsider its decisions, it is possible for a President to disagree with the government or intervene on behalf of the citizenry against the tyranny of the executive. He is duty bound to do so because he had taken the oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.

Why should you read this article?

• To critically understand the importance of the role of the Indian President.

Source:

• The President is not a mere rubber stamp

Essence: Early SBM efforts to quickly and at scale supply clean sanitation did see a spike in the nation. Recent research has shown that the toilet revolution was brought about by women's protection, security, and dignity. SBM has an impact on later initiatives like the Prime Minister's Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition (POSHAN) Abhiyaan to eliminate malnutrition. India's campaign to improve urban sanitation has shifted its emphasis away from rural areas. India now has 16 crore metric tonnes of legacy rubbish at landfills that are dispersed throughout its cities and towns. The greatest public-private partnerships (PPPs) and innovative technologies are needed to overcome this. Success will be based on long-term solutions and a significant change in behaviour. Otherwise, the visible fissures might develop into huge holes.

Why should you read this article?

• To comprehend the problems related to the SBM programme.
• To know what possible steps could be taken to address the same.

Source:

• View: India can’t keep harping on the ‘glorious pause’ of Swachh Bharat Mission:

Background

• The tanning processes in Leather industries emit thick black smoke into the atmosphere and toxic wastewater is released into freshwater bodies.
• A Kerala startup has come up with a vegan, eco-friendly alternative that looks and feels like leather but is made using coconut water.

About the Initiative

• Malai Biomaterials, founded in 2018, was motivated by the idea to develop a material that is circular in nature, doesn’t harm the environment, and can be used in the realm of fashion and product design.
• Vegan leather is developed through two processes. First is the fermentation where coconut water is fed to a particular type of bacteria.
  • Once this ferments, the sugar extract is converted into cellulose and can be used to make sheets or any three-dimensional shape.
• This PETA-approved organisation is currently working alongside the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Hyderabad to improve their material and make it affordable as well.

Source:

• #SustainableStartup: How a Kerala Duo Is Turning Coconut Water Into Vegan Leather: