Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

• Kerala announces menstrual leave: Time to talk period
• India needs to use its fiscal armoury to fight inequality
• Democracy and its structural slippages
• New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern’s resignation spotlights the hard choices that women in politics often face
• An India chapter for foreign universities
• Endorsement disclosure – Fine violators, do not jail them
• Open IIT Gates – More women are taking a crack at the JEE. Good, because this gender disparity was glaring
• Rock The Jailhouse – Too many Indians are locked up under dozens of obsolete laws. Legal reform must precede prison reform

GS Paper 3

• Finetuning the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
• Needed, a new approach to data protection for minors

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• Netherlands sticks to plan to close Groningen gas field by October
• INS Vagir, fifth Scorpene submarine, commissioned
• Explained: How nuclear-powered rockets can send missions to Mars in 45 days
• PM participates in ceremony to name 21 largest unnamed islands of Andaman & Nicobar Islands after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees
• Artificial skyglow: The dark sky is a natural resource, and too much light is polluting it
• Employment days under Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme at a five-year low

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

Kerala announces menstrual leave: Time to talk period

News: Kerala government has announced that it will grant menstrual leave for female students in all state universities under the Department of Higher Education. This announcement is a positive step towards a gender-just society.

How menstrual leave would benefit women and what are the concerns associated with it?

Benefits: It is an important step towards acknowledging and addressing the pain and discomfort faced by women.

Period leave would help create workplaces and classrooms that are more inclusive and more accommodating.

Concerns: Menstruation in India is a taboo topic. Therefore, it is possible that a special period leave could become a source for discrimination.

South Korea and Japan have laws granting period leave but recent surveys showed a decline in the number of women availing it due to the social stigma against menstruation. This could also be in India.

Further, there is risk of medicalising a normal biological process which could further lead to biases against women.

Moreover, there are also possibilities that employers may be reluctant to hire women due to the extra leave granted to them.

How have various governments recognised menstrual leave and what are the challenges?

The government has tried to come up with menstrual laws and schemes for women.

For example, Bihar introduced period leave for working women in 1992. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Menstrual Hygiene Scheme seeks to increase access to sanitary napkins for adolescent girls in rural areas.

However, bringing laws on menstruation still remains a challenge.

The Menstruation Benefits Bill was first introduced in Parliament in 2017 and then in the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly in 2022.

However, the bill was withdrawn from the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly because the subject was deemed unsuitable for discussion in the Assembly.

Therefore, such issues and obstacles will bring difficulties in recognising the goals of gender justice and equality. 

India needs to use its fiscal armoury to fight inequality

News– The article explains the recent report of Oxfam about increasing inequality in India. It also provide some facts about inequality and suggest solution to reduce inequality in India

What are arguments favouring Oxfam report conclusion about increasing inequality in India?

Tax burden on the poor is not only through indirect taxes but also through inflationary impact of higher excise duty on petrol and diesel.

Average inflation has been above 6% for three years. For items like milk, flour and eggs, it is higher. It is running ahead of the rise in wages.

Oxfam says that worldwide 1.7 billion workers have seen wages eroded by sharp rise in inflation. It has made them relatively more poor.

The World Bank 2022 Poverty and Shared prosperity says that by the end of 2022, more than 70 million people slipped below the poverty line. A bulk of them are in India.

There has been no official poverty count for the last 11 years due to lack of consumer expenditure data. A NITI Aayog report using multi-dimensional index shows an average of double digit poverty.

Mercedes clocked a record growth of 41% during 2022. Demand for luxury goods has been booming in recent years.

What are some facts about inequality?

Inequality is an inevitable consequence of faster economic growth. Risk taking entrepreneurs create wealth and make disproportionate gains. Those left behind may benefit from trickle down.

But, if trickle down does not happen, it leads to stagnating income for the majority.

Extreme inequality leads to social tensions. It is detrimental to growth.

What is the way forward to reduce inequalities?

Monetary policy is not very useful. Loose monetary policy during Covid made inequality worse. Soaring stock markets due to infusion of central bank liquidity benefits those who invested in stocks. It is less than 3% of the population.

Fiscal policy is necessary to address the inequalities. It can be done by redistributive taxation or by more spending on public goods.

There must be focus on survival of MSMEs where most of the job creation happens. Outstanding payments due to MSMEs are nearly 10 million dollars. TReDS is a platform to sell the outstanding bills of small businesses. But, it is not working.

Fiscal action is needed for skill generation for school dropouts due to pandemic.

Higher expenditure is needed on health, education and infrastructure. It needs higher taxation on the rich.

There is a need to reduce the burden of indirect taxes and increase the share of direct taxes.

Democracy and its structural slippages

News– The article explains the features of modern and concept of equality. It also explains whether elections are truly free and fair.

What are some features of modern forms of democracy?

The democracy that is functional around the world today was essentially a 19th century to 20th century western creation. The institution of universal adult franchise and governance through regular and multi-party elections is at most a 100 years or less phenomena. In Britain, women obtained the right to vote in the 1930s, in France in 1944.

Basic to democracy is the devolution of power. It is based on the premise of the individual and equality. There has been near-universal abolition of monarchies and hereditary aristocracies and their replacement by governance through popular mandate.

The spread of economic resources, infrastructure, education, health to the masses, with some shortcomings shows the effectiveness of devolution in practice.

There is an unbreakable link between the development of devolution and capitalism. Capitalism’s basic requirement is freedom for resources such as land, labour. So, the notions of the individual’s rights and equality evolved. It culminates in the notion of a free market for every kind of resource mobilisation, including labour.

What are some facts about equality?

Human history has witnessed several experiences of equality. It is mostly in its religious form like, non-theistic Buddhism. Monotheistic religions such as Christianity and Sikhism were proponents of social equality. However, equality demands the subjugation of the individual to the community.

It is notable that no egalitarian ideology has ever been able to create an egalitarian society. These ideologies reshuffle existing social hierarchies and create some space for the upward movement of the lower rungs. It seeks to establish uniformity through the same or similar institutions and practices.

The uniformity takes the form of periodic multi-party “free and fair” elections and guarantees of various kinds of freedoms.

Are elections truly free and fair?

Elections divide voters into a dubious majority and a minority. The majority-minority division is hardly a decisive mandate. There is hardly a government anywhere in the world that governs through a majority of the mandate.

Usually, 30% to 40% of the votes give a comfortable majority. This is structured into multi-party elections through “the first past the post” principle.

In practice, voting by individuals is still conditioned by numerous demands of family, community, religion, culture. It is also conditioned by the political alternatives offered by political parties. A loss of individuality is implicated here.

The individual does not create the choices. These are given by parties and often wrapped in false propaganda and even more false promises. The individual has the “freedom” to choose between these choices.

The complete equation of democracy with electoral politics draws one’s attention away from any alternative form of governance.

What is the scenario of India?

Democratic politics has been impacted by identity politics of caste, sub-caste, community, region, language.

Nehru had hoped that education and the experience of democracy would generate a more “modern” consciousness among the masses. The very success of political mobilisations has reinforced identities instead of weakening them.

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern’s resignation spotlights the hard choices that women in politics often face

News– The article explains the challenges faced by women in politics.

What are the issues faced by women in politics all over the world?

Women leaders, even in some of the most developed countries, find it difficult to break the glass ceiling to the top post. If women manage to lead, they find it incredibly hard to sustain campaigns in male-dominated politics and societies.

Last year, in  Finland PM Sanna Marin was trolled, vilified and mocked. She was forced to undergo a drug test after photos of her hosting a party at her home went viral on social media.

In comparison,  there were muted reactions to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson partying during the Covid lockdown.

The choices for women leaders are often seen in binary terms, between their personal lives and professional aspirations. There are very few women who were not forced to make a choice and balance the two. The women who manage to strike a balance are often referred to as “superwoman”.

When women secure high political office, it is often considered the result of a pathway laid by fathers, husbands or other male figures in the family.

What is the scenario of India?

India has had two women presidents and a prime minister. But, there is still a lack of equal representation of women in positions of power.

The representation of women in Parliament and assemblies is dismal. The dropout rate of women workers in political organisations is alarming.

Women politicians have neither an understanding society, nor the support mechanism that would encourage them to view politics as a career. They do not get the required support to help them balance family responsibilities and work.

Financial constraints and career uncertainties are other reasons for women choosing to drop out of political spaces.

What is the way forward for women in politics?

Women should not feel constrained to make a choice between personal and professional lives. There is a need to create a social environment conducive to mental health priorities.

The need for a temporary break for attaining personal goals should not translate into a disruption in careers for women leaders.

We need to evolve as a society, where pursuit of success should not be seen in binary choices of personal and professional responsibilities.

An India chapter for foreign universities

News: Recently University Grants Commission (UGC) announced draft regulations for foreign universities setting up campuses in India.

What are the key provisions of UGC’s draft regulations?

What are the advantages of UGC’s draft regulations?

What are the challenges associated with UGC’s draft regulations?

Not address the students concern: Students do not go abroad for degrees alone; they go for the experience, post-study work visas, income opportunities and better career prospects. Studying in a foreign university in India would offer them none of these.

What are the contradictory provisions associated with UGC’s draft regulations?

-The regulation demands that the quality of education imparted by these institutions in India must be on a par with the quality of courses at their campus in the country of origin. Yet, it insists that they must not “offer any such programme of study which jeopardises the national interest of India or the standards of higher education in India”.

-It promises academic, administrative and financial autonomy to foreign institutions but takes that away by asserting that they should abide by all the conditions that the UGC and the Indian government prescribe from time to time.

What should be done?

Endorsement disclosure – Fine violators, do not jail them

News: Recently, the government issued guidelines for social-media influencers and celebrities.

About the endorsement guidelines for social-media influencers and celebrities

What is the need for guidelines for social-media influencers and celebrities?

Disclosures are important particularly in the case of social media because it’s relatively easy to distinguish an advertisement from other content on other mediums, such as television.

What are the concerns associated with the guidelines for social-media influencers and celebrities?

Punishment for violation is too harsh: For instance, influencers could be fined up to Rs 10 lakh, and for repeated offences, the fine can go up to Rs 50 lakh. Violations can also lead to influencers getting debarred and jailed for six months, extending up to two years.

The jail term for such an offence as a violation of endorsement disclosure rules seems contrary to the government’s broader effort to decriminalise economic offences. Further, as a 2022 study showed, stringent rules have not stopped misleading advertisements.

Not easy to identify compensation: The connection with advertisers may include monetary or non-monetary compensation, media barter, trips or hotel stay, discounts, gifts, and so on.  But, such disclosures are not easy for the audience to recognise. Further, they may not unduly influence their opinion and decision-making.

The government does not have the capacity to enforce: The government would need the significant capacity to oversee a large number of influencers.

The government needs a balance between the state’s capacity and the laws.

Open IIT Gates – More women are taking a crack at the JEE. Good, because this gender disparity was glaring

News: Girls routinely outperform boys in boards and medical entrance. But in JEE, the results have long highlighted glaring gendered disparity. For the first time this year, women make up 30% of the IIT-JEE applicant pool.

About women students in STEM?

In India, women make up 43% of the STEM education pool, one of the highest ratios in the world.

However, there are a few shortcomings. Such as a) Lack of interest in scientific and technical education, b) Implicit biases and the lack of role models for women in the field of STEM, c) The JEE exam usually requires years of intensive coaching in faraway locations, and d) Students from rural and lower-income backgrounds also do not pursue JEE.

How does the government is improving women students in STEM?

The government has made active interventions to spark girls’ interest in STEM studies. Such as a) There is a horizontal ‘supernumerary’ quota in IITs. This gives women who have passed the JEE Advanced an edge in courses of their choice and has improved the presence of women to 20% on IIT campuses, b) Institutions are assessed for their gender inclusion.

IITs must make sure that disparities don’t come in the way of talent.

Rock The Jailhouse – Too many Indians are locked up under dozens of obsolete laws. Legal reform must precede prison reform

News: Recently, the Prime Minister has called for repealing obsolete criminal laws and prison reforms to improve jail management.

What is the challenge in jail management?

India’s jails are horribly overcrowded. Almost 77% of India’s 5. 54 lakh prisoners are undertrials. In other words, three of four inmates have not even been convicted. As many as 11,490 prisoners had spent more than five years in jail without a conviction.

NCRB’s prison statistics for 2021 showed that the occupancy rate was 130%, a 12-percentage-point increase over the previous year. In two states, Uttarakhand and UP, the occupancy rate was as high as 185%.

How do obsolete and irrational criminal laws hamper jail management?

a) Over 10% of the prison population in 2021 were undertrials for rape and dowry deaths. Both are heinous crimes that should lead to severe punishment. However, sexual assault laws do not differentiate between rape and false promises of marriage, b) Anti-dowry laws are framed in such a way that police can arrest multiple people for one crime, c) About 25% of undertrials in 2021 were imprisoned under special and local laws – for crimes falling under the umbrella of liquor and narcotics. d) Prohibition laws are irrational and often lead to poorer citizens being jailed for long periods as India’s legal aid system is dysfunctional, and e) Section 292 of IPC (to deal with obscenity) and sedition law both introduced during the British Raj, were still in use.

What needs to be done to improve jail management?

There are far too many unnecessary provisions in criminal laws that deprive many citizens of liberty. They need to be repealed. Both the political executive at the Centre and in states should initiate these changes.

GS Paper 3

Finetuning the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

News: The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 was brought with the aim to bring structural change in the resolution architecture in the country. However, it has not lived up to the expectations.

What are the problems with IBC, 2016?

According to a recent data, the total realisable value of the cases resolved till September 2022 was only 30.8 per cent of the admitted claims. The data also shows that 64 per cent of the ongoing cases have crossed 270 days.

As per reports, the average time taken for cases to be resolved has risen and more time being spent on associated litigation.

In order to address these issues, the government has come up with proposals to bring changes in the IBC, 2016.

What are the different proposals for changes in IBC, 2016 made by the government?

The proposal – a) aims to reduce the time for admitting cases and streamline the process by a greater reliance on data from Information Utilities, b) it seeks to remove ambiguity and bring predictability in the process, c) aims at extending the pre-packaged insolvency resolution process that was introduced for MSMEs to other firms, d) seeks to address some of the issues that have arisen in the resolution of real estate firms, e) seeks to change the manner in which proceeds will be distributed, i.e.; creditors will receive proceeds up to the liquidation value as prescribed under section 53 of the Code.

And any surplus over such liquidation value will be distributed between all creditors in the ratio of their unsatisfied claims.

These proposals aim at bringing changes in the IBC, 2016. However, any such change should be with the objective of improving its functioning and outcomes.

Needed, a new approach to data protection for minors

News– The article explains the child centric issues with the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022.

The Bill currently provides for mandatory parental consent for all data processing activities by children, aged under 18 years.

What are issues with the draft Bill?

The Bill relies on parents to grant consent on behalf of the child in all cases. It does not incentivise online platforms to proactively build safer and better services for minors.

India has low digital literacy. Parents in fact often rely on their children to use the Internet. This is an ineffective approach to keep children safe online.

It does not take into account the “best interests of the child”. It is a standard that originated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, to which India is a signatory.

India has upheld this standard in laws such as the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, and the POCSO Act, 2012. However, it has not been applied to the issue of data protection.

The Bill does not factor in how teenagers use various Internet platforms for self-expression and personal development. They use it for activities ranging from taking music lessons to preparing for examinations to forming communities with people of similar worldviews.

The Bill does allow the government to provide exemptions in the future from strict parental consent requirements, profiling, tracking prohibitions. This aspect does not acknowledge the blurring lines between what a platform can be used for.

For example, Instagram is called a social media platform. But is regularly used as an educational and professional development tool by millions of artists around the world.

Another issue is that each platform will have to obtain ‘verifiable parental consent’ in the case of minors. This provision can change the nature of the Internet.

It is not possible to tell if the user is a minor without confirming their age. So, the platforms will have to verify the age of every user.

All platforms will now have to manage significantly more personal data than before. Citizens will be at greater risk of harms such as data breaches, identity thefts.

What is the way forward to resolve the concerns related to children in the Bill?

First, we should move from a blanket ban on tracking, monitoring and adopt a risk-based approach to platform obligations. Platforms should be mandated to undertake a risk assessment for minors.

They should not only perform age-verification-related corresponding obligations but also design services with default settings and features that protect children from harm. This approach will bring in an element of co-regulation, by creating incentives for platforms to design better products for children.

There is a need to relax the age of mandatory parental consent for all services to 13 years. This is in line with many other jurisdictions around the world. It will minimize data collection. This relaxation in age of consent in tandem with the risk mitigation approach.

The government should also conduct large-scale surveys of both children and parents to find out more about their online habits, digital literacy, preferences and attitudes.

There is a need to design a policy in India that balances the safety and the agency of children online. The onus of keeping our young safe should not be put only on parents. It should be made a society-wide obligation.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

Netherlands sticks to plan to close Groningen gas field by October

Source: The post is based on the article “Netherlands sticks to plan to close Groningen gas field by October” published in Economic Times on 22nd January 2023.

What is the News?

The Netherlands has planned to shut down the Groningen gas field this year because of safety concerns.

What is Groningen gas field?

The Groningen gas field is a natural gas field in Groningen province in the northeastern part of the Netherlands.

It is the largest natural gas field in Europe and one of the largest in the world.

The gas field was discovered in 1959. The subsequent extraction of natural gas became central to the energy supply in the Netherlands.

Why is the Netherlands closing down the Groningen gas field?

Gas extraction in the Groningen gas field resulted in subsidence above the field. From 1991 this was also accompanied by earthquakes. This led to damage to houses and unrest among residents. 

Due to this, the Netherlands has planned to shut down the Groningen gas field by the end of 2023.

INS Vagir, fifth Scorpene submarine, commissioned

Source: The post is based on the article “INS Vagir, fifth Scorpene submarine, commissioned” published in The Hindu on 24th January 2023.

What is the News?

The fifth Scorpene class conventional submarine “INS Vagir” was commissioned into the Indian Navy.

What is INS Vagir?

INS Vagir is the fifth diesel-electric Kalvari-class submarine. 

It is among the six submarines being built by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai in collaboration with the French M/s Naval Group under Project 75. 

Four of these submarines (INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj, INS Vela) have already been commissioned into the Navy and a sixth (INS Vagsheer) will be commissioned next year.

What are the key features of INS Vagir?

Kalvari class of submarines have Diesel Electric transmission systems and these are primarily attack submarines or ‘hunter-killer’ types which mean they are designed to target and sink adversary naval vessels.

They have an estimated endurance of approximately 50 days. They also have the capability of operating in a wide range of Naval combat including anti-warship and anti-submarine operations, intelligence gathering and surveillance and naval mine laying. 

These submarines are around 220 feet long and have a height of 40 feet. It can reach the highest speeds of 11 knots (20 km/h) when surfaced and 20 knots (37 km/h) when submerged.

What is the significance of induction of INS Vagir? 

India currently operates a group of nuclear-powered submarines and diesel-electric submarines.

As per naval warfare principles, for India to create a strategic deterrence, there is a specific number of submarines of both types that India needs to have in active service.

These submarines have their designated roles in the Carrier Battle Groups, which are formations of ships and submarines with Aircraft Carriers in the lead role.

However, currently, India has a less-than-ideal number of submarines, with many new ones being at various stages of construction.

With the latest induction of INS Vagir, India now has 16 conventional submarines and a nuclear submarine in service.

Explained: How nuclear-powered rockets can send missions to Mars in 45 days

Source: The post is based on the article “Explained: How nuclear-powered rockets can send missions to Mars in 45 days” published in TOI on 22nd January 2023.

What is the News?

Recently, as part of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts(NIAC) program for 2023, NASA selected a bimodal nuclear propulsion concept for Phase I development which could reduce transit times to Mars to just 45 days.

What is Bimodal nuclear propulsion?

Bimodal nuclear propulsion is a two-part system that includes: Nuclear Thermal and Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NTP /NEP).

The Nuclear Thermal system includes a nuclear reactor that will heat liquid hydrogen (LH2) propellant and turn it into ionized hydrogen gas (plasma) that will then be channelled through a nozzle to generate thrust.

Nuclear Electric Propulsion depends on a nuclear reactor to provide electricity to a Hall-Effect thruster (ion engine) which will generate an electromagnetic field that will ionize and accelerate an inert gas to create thrust.

What are the advantages of a Bimodal Nuclear Propulsion?

Bimodal nuclear propulsion has major advantages over conventional chemical propulsion. These benefits include fuel efficiency, a higher specific impulse (Isp) rating and unlimited energy density (virtually). 

PM participates in ceremony to name 21 largest unnamed islands of Andaman & Nicobar Islands after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees

Source: The post is based on the article “PM participates in ceremony to name 21 largest unnamed islands of Andaman & Nicobar Islands after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees” published in PIB on 23rd January 2023.

What is the News?

The Prime Minister has named the 21 largest unnamed islands of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees.

He also unveiled a model of the national memorial dedicated to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose that is to be built on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep.

About 21 Islands named after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees

The Prime Minister has named the 21 largest unnamed islands of Andaman & Nicobar Islands after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees.

Throwing light on the history of Andaman and Nicobar islands, the Prime Minister informed that the Tricolour was hoisted for the first time here and the first independent government of India was formed.

Note: In 2018, to honour the memory of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Ross Islands was renamed as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep. Neil Island and Havelock Island were also renamed Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep respectively.

About the memorial for Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

The proposed memorial will be set up on Ross Island which was renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep in 2018. 

It will have a museum, a cable car ropeway, a laser-and-sound show, a guided heritage trail through historical buildings and a theme-based children’s amusement park.

Artificial skyglow: The dark sky is a natural resource, and too much light is polluting it

Source: The post is based on the article “The dark sky is a natural resource, and too much light is polluting it” published in The Hindu on 24th January 2023.

What is the News?

According to a study, light pollution is growing rapidly and in some places, the number of stars visible to the naked eye in the night sky is being reduced by more than half in less than 20 years.

About the study on the artificial skyglow

The human eye should be able to perceive several thousand stars on a clear, dark night. But the growing artificial brightness at night has robbed people of the night-time starry view.

This is because as the sky brightens up with artificial light, the fainter objects are not visible to the unaided human eye and disappear. 

According to the study, over the past ten years, the sky has brightened by 9.6%. This is much more than the around 2% per annual global increase measured by satellites.

Due to this, the stars are disappearing right in front of our eyes at a startling rate and a large number of stars that were once visible to us are no longer visible to us.

The change is so fast that a child who was born in a place that had 250 visible stars would only be able to see about 100 stars by the time they turn 18.

What is the situation in India on Artificial Skyglow?

A 2016 study reported that 19.5% of India’s population — the lowest fraction among G20 countries — experiences a level of skyglow that would at least keep the Milky Way galaxy out of sight and at most render dark adaptation for human eyes impossible. 

What are the consequences of this artificial glow?

Numerous studies have found that artificial light at night affects both people and wildlife in significant ways:

According to a 2003 report, lit beaches deter sea turtles from coming ashore to nest. A 2006 review found that skyglow keeps trees from sensing seasonal variations. 

A 2017 study found that young burrow-nesting seabirds don’t take flight unless the nesting site becomes dark. 

A 2019 study reported that clownfish eggs don’t hatch when exposed to artificial light at night, killing the offspring. 

A 2020 study noted that skyglow interferes with multiple aspects of insect life and allows insect predators to hunt for longer.

A 2020 study found that disrupting the circadian rhythm, artificial light at night can hamper the production of melatonin, an influential hormone in the human body which affects sleep, moods and cognition.

Employment days under Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme at a five-year low

Source: The post is based on the article “Employment days under Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme at a five-year low” published in The Hindu on 23rd January 2023.

What is the News?

The average days of employment provided per household under the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are at a five-year low for this financial year.

What is MGNREGA?

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What were the average days of employment under MGNREGA in 2022-23?

The average days of employment provided per household under MGNREGA was 42 days in 2022-23 while it was 50 days in 2021-22, 52 days in 2020-21, 48 days in 2019-20 and 51 days in 2018-19.

Why is there a decline in employment under MGNREGA?

Activists allege that the MGNREGA has been plagued by systemic problems that are disincentivizing participation. These problems are: 

– Choking of funds: This has led to suppression of work demand and delays in wage payments.

– Technical complexities: The introduction of unnecessary technical complexities like an app for attendance at worksites has caused more hardships for workers who will be more dissuaded going forward.

– States dismal policies: With less than two-months for the financial year to close, there are at least nine States and union territories which have utilised less than 70% of projected person days.

– Budgetary cuts: With low utilisation, financial outlay for the underperforming States is expected to further shrink in the upcoming financial year.