06 February 2023

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – Child Marriage in India: GS II – Topic Social Issues

Context:

• Nimee’s eyes don’t reflect the joy of becoming a new mother; instead, they represent the fear, dread, and anxiety that permeate her village in Assam’s Morigaon region.
• Looking off into the distance, Rezina Khatun tries to make sense of the sudden Armageddon that has consumed her up until this point calm existence.

India:

• In India, the practice’s prevalence has continuously declined, from 47.4% in 2005 to 23.3% in 2021.

In eight states, child marriage is more frequent than the national average:

• West Bengal, Bihar, and Tripura are at the top of the list with more than 40% of women in their 20s and 30s getting married before they reach 18.
• The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned that a pandemic-induced economic downturn could undo the progress made thus far.
• Child marriage has reemerged in Rajasthan, where social evils are pervasive on a cultural level, as a result of the financial hardship brought on by job losses and business closures during the two years of lockdowns implemented to stem the spread of COVID-19.

 Indian States:

• West Bengal and Bihar are the two bigger States with the highest rates of girl child marriage.
• States with a high percentage of tribally disadvantaged people have a higher prevalence of child marriage.
• Infant mortality in Jharkhand was 37.9%, 32.2% of women in the 20–24 age group got married before turning 18, and 65.8% of women in the 15–19 age group have anaemia.
• Assam has a high rate of child marriage (31.8% in 2019–20, up from 30.8% in 2015–16).
• Child marriages have decreased in some States, notably Madhya Pradesh (23.1% in 2020–21 from 32.4% in 2015–16), Rajasthan (25.4% from 35.4%), and Haryana.
• On this metric, states with greater literacy rates and stronger social and health indices have fared much better.
• In Kerala, the percentage of women who were married before the age of 18 fell from 7.6% in 2015–16 to 6.3% in 2019–20.
• With 12.8% fewer women in the 20–24 age range getting married before the age of 18, compared to 16.3% in 2015–16, the statistics in Tamil Nadu have also improved.

Rajasthan:

• There have been 1,216 child weddings in Rajasthan between 2018–19.
• The National Commission for Women and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) launched an investigation into child trafficking and prostitution in rural Rajasthan in response to media reports about girls being sold on stamp paper to settle debts on the orders of a khap panchayat in Pander village in Bhilwara district.

Child marriage is primarily brought about by:

• Lack of resources: If a family is struggling financially, marrying off one of their daughters may leave them with one fewer mouth to feed and one fewer child to educate.
• Safety: For families living in unsafe environments like refugee camps or war zones, child marriage may actually seem like a safer alternative.
• Tradition: Child marriage is widely accepted and seen as a frequent practise in several cultural traditions.
• There is a common misconception that married women are much safer from social offences than unmarried women. Women who are single are usually the targets of hate crimes.
• In rural areas, it’s common for parents to believe that all of their property is inherited from their ancestors and that their daughters will lose their part if they get married early.
• Spending less on women’s education is a good idea because families often treat boys and girls differently. Female offspring are seen as a burden because they are unable to work and must take care of domestic tasks both before and after marriage.

 Negative effects of child marriage:

• Human rights violation: Despite being socially acceptable, child marriage violates people’s rights and dignity.
• It has a detrimental impact on children’s education, health, and safety.
• Reduces Girls’ Education Rates: When a girl is married off as a young kid, her education sometimes comes to a stop. She is expected to care for her spouse and start a family after being married, leaving little time for school or a career.
• Even though child marriage may appear to benefit struggling parents financially in the near term, it can actually trap families in a cycle of poverty.
• Younger brides have more years to bear children after marriage, increasing their likelihood of having larger families, which leads to higher fertility rates. They usually have more unequal relationships with their wives, which gives the wife little to no influence over when or how many children to have.
• Young females have less control and influence over their offspring and are less able to make judgements about their food needs, medical care, and household management.
• Desire for a Male Child: Due to a strong desire for a male child, young girls and women are under pressure to become pregnant as frequently as they can until they give birth to a male child.

Legislation and rules:

• Child Marriage Restrictions Act of 1929: It is also known as the Sarda Act. To put limitations on the practise of child marriage, a statute was passed.
• Its main goals were to stop early deaths and get rid of the bad things that were forced upon young women who couldn’t handle the responsibilities of marriage.
• A male child must be under the age of 21, and a female child must be under the age of 18, in compliance with this law.
• The Child Marriage Prevention Act of 2006: This rule stipulates that a man must be 21 years old and a woman must be 18 years old before they can wed.
• Child marriage is prohibited in India, as stated by the 2006 Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.
• the Hindu Marriage Act of 1956 The Hindu Marriage Act makes no mention of penalising the parents or witnesses to the marriage.
• The marriage can only be deemed void if a girl wants to get married before turning fifteen and challenges the union before turning eighteen.
• The personal code of Islam Islamic law does not forbid child marriage. Once their children reach puberty, the married pair has a “puberty option” known as Khayar-ul-bulugh that enables them to dissolve their marriage.
• The 2012 Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act aims to protect kids from being subjected to other types of rights abuses.
• The legal marriage age for women has been increased to 21 by the Union Cabinet. The advantages and disadvantages of this reform are being examined by a legislative standing committee.

Issues:

• The rights of children are infringed, and child marriage has serious negative effects since it raises the infant and maternal death rates.
• Children of adolescent mothers are more prone to have delayed growth because of their low birth weight. According to NFHS-5, the prevalence of child stunting in 2019–21 is 35.5%.
• Data show that increased fertility, poor maternal and child health, and lower socioeconomic position for mothers are all strongly correlated with child marriage.
• It is necessary to enhance how centralised programmes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao are implemented.
• Because enduring customs are so extensively accepted in culture, even the government typically disregards them.
• a system whereby all of a household’s daughters are wed off to the sons of another. In these unions, the older sister is usually over 18, and her name is written on the invitations and publicised. Either separately or one day earlier, the younger girls are married off.

What to do:

• It is necessary to use a holistic approach that addresses issues like eradicating poverty, enhancing education, and creating kid-friendly public spaces.
• enhancing public awareness of nutrition and health.
• unfavourable sociocultural norms and differences.
• Strong laws and strict enforcement of the law.
• fostering the ideal atmosphere on the ground to ensure that females with only a primary education or no schooling at all experience higher rates of child marriage.
• A girl child needs both an education and, ideally, vocational training to be financially independent.

Initiatives by the States:

• States have launched a wide range of initiatives to address the problems posed by child marriage, including programmes in education, health care, and awareness raising.
• For instance, West Bengal’s Kanyashree scheme offers financial assistance to women who want to pursue higher education.
• Bihar and other States have implemented a cycling programme to ensure that girls arrive to school safely.
• P. offers a programme to assist girls who want to go back to school.

Girls’ emancipation:

• The important elements of the solution include empowering girls, creating an appropriate public infrastructure, and addressing societal norms.
• Activating community support groups at the gramme panchayat level, monitoring the performance of child protection committees and child marriage prohibition officials
• Such programmes might lead to villages devoid of child marriage, like the almost 12,000 that exist right now in Odisha.

Other Recommendations:

• Due to a number of these initiatives as well as the recommendations stated in the 2011 Shivraj Patil Committee report, the number of child marriages in Karnataka has declined over time (from 42% in 2005-06 to 21.3% in 2019-20).

Source The Hindu

2 – Energy Transition in India: GS III – Topic Environmental Conservation

Context:

• The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P) is quickly taking over as the primary means for wealthy nations to use multilateral financing to support an energy transition in developing countries. Given that coal is being “phased down” according to the Glasgow Pact, this has extra significance today. Following Vietnam, Indonesia, and South Africa as potential candidates for a JET-Partnership, India is seen as the next. An excellent opportunity to come to an agreement may be provided by India’s G-20 chairmanship. However, India must develop a thorough domestic just energy transition (JET) plan in order to negotiate a financial deal that addresses its specific combination of socio-economic issues.
• Climate change is an existential hazard that could have a negative impact on the course of human history. Fossil fuels are the traditional energy sources that have the largest impact on climate change. They are responsible for more than 75% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and almost 90% of the carbon dioxide emissions.
• The use of green energy can help India achieve its objective of having zero net emissions by 2070 and pave the way for a better future.
• India might therefore set an example for other developing economies by pioneering a new model of economic growth that could avoid the carbon-intensive policies many countries have previously pursued and guide them in making the switch to renewable energy.

What is green energy?

• “Green energy” refers to sources of renewable energy. Green energy also goes by the labels clean, sustainable, or renewable energy.
• Because dangerous greenhouse gases are not discharged into the atmosphere, the environmental effects of producing green energy are negligible to nonexistent.
• Several important green energy sources include electricity produced by solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, low-impact hydroelectricity, and specific qualifying biomass sources.
• How does India encourage the use of green energy?
• The third-largest energy consumer in the world is India. Despite a rise in energy demand since 2000, coal, oil, and solid biomass continue to provide 80% of the required energy.
• In comparison to the rest of the world, India uses less energy and produces less emissions per person.

Initiatives for Transition to Green Energy:

• India said in 2019 that by 2030, it would have 450 GW of installed renewable energy capacity.
• The Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) programme is another initiative by the Indian government to expand the manufacturing industry and generate the raw materials required for renewable energy.
• The PM-KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri-Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan) project aims to give farmers access to water and financial security by utilising solar energy potential of 25,750 MW by 2022.
• The solarization of water pumps is a step toward bringing distributed power directly to the consumer’s door.
• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy hosts both the Akshay Urja Portal and the India Renewable Idea Exchange (IRIX) Portal on its website.
• IRIX is a platform that promotes dialogue between the international community and India’s energy-conscious citizens.

What issues is India’s energy sector dealing with?

• Poverty and Energy Inequality: India has a huge problem with access to energy, and there are big access disparities all around the country. Kerosene is still used for lighting in 77 million homes in India.
• The situation is significantly worse in rural India, where up to 44% of households lack access to electricity.
• India has put in place a variety of projects and programmes to fight energy poverty, however they have run into logistical problems and had inadequate local implementation.
• Dependence on Imports and Weaponization of Supply Chain: India’s crude oil import bill increased by 76% to USD 90.3 billion in the first half of 2022–2023, while the overall amount of imports increased by 15%.
• India’s increasing reliance on imported oil poses a serious danger to its energy security, and the current disruption of the global supply chain brought on by geopolitical upheaval is making matters worse.
• When it comes to renewable energy, India also depends a lot on countries like China for solar panels.
• There is no backward integration in the solar value chain because India is now unable to make solar wafers and polysilicon, which hinders the transition to sustainable energy.
• Climate Change and the Energy Crisis: Energy demand, fuel supply, and the physical robustness of present and future energy infrastructure are all directly impacted by climate change.
• Heatwaves and a disrupted monsoon as a result of climate change create a load on present energy production, which emphasises the need to reduce fossil fuel emissions.
• Women’s Health at Danger: When long-term domestic energy is produced from filthy sources like coal, cow dung, and wood, it puts women’s health at risk because they frequently participate actively in household chores.
• The use of dirty energy sources raises the risk of respiratory, cardiovascular, and psychological diseases in women, in addition to increasing maternal and infant mortality.
• Growing Divide between Domestic Coal Supply and Demand: Data from the Ministry of Coal from 2021 indicate a widening gap between domestic coal supply and demand.
• Despite having significant reserves, coal production has been declining in the states that produce the most coal.
• Due to increased expenses and unresolved contractual issues with electricity producers, the issue is getting worse.
• According to the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook report, India alone would experience an increase in energy consumption of more than 3% yearly as a result of its quick industrialization and urbanisation.
• At the same time, the cost of petroleum is significantly increasing everywhere.

What should be done as a result?

• By promoting clean energy, women’s leadership and empowerment in the energy industry have the potential to speed up the shift to a low-carbon economy. This possibility exists for women’s leadership and empowerment in this sector.
• The “just transition” should take gender equality into account in order to guarantee that men and women in the workforce have equal access to jobs in green fields.
• In particular, in the home as responsible mothers, wives, and daughters, as well as in enterprise and policymaking, women may play a vital role in the transition to green energy.
• Diversification of the green supply chain: The supply chains for clean energy need to be extended to a much larger number of countries rather than being limited to just industrialised ones.
• In this context, the COP27 climate finance agenda can be used as a vehicle. When conventional energy sources are replaced, income and employment will shift from some areas to others, and this must be appropriately managed.
• By providing incentives for the least expensive energy solutions, promote university-level discoveries that aid India in achieving an economically sustainable clean energy transformation. In order to encourage students to pursue research and innovation rather than traditional schooling, it is possible to take use of India’s demographic dividend.
• For instance, the Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) programme resulted in a nearly 75% reduction in the unit cost of LED lights.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) jointly launching the “In Our LIFEtime” campaign, which urges and motivates young people between the ages of 18 and 23 to adopt and promote sustainable lifestyles, is another positive step in the right direction.
• The introduction of e-buses, bus corridors, and bus rapid transit systems, as well as the digitization of the entire system, are necessary to rethink and revitalise public transportation.
• Additionally to switching to biofuels from fossil fuels, emission requirements must be tightened.
• It is also crucial to establish a number of electric freight lanes to promote electrification in order to fully benefit from electric vehicles.
• Multisectoral Approach to Energy Transition: India’s future development will depend on its ability to remain resilient in a variety of areas, including the design of its energy systems, urbanisation, industrialization, internal supply-chain management, and the lives of the underprivileged.
• India may gradually reduce its dependency on imports of goods and foreign supply chains by encouraging domestic production and implementing distributed energy systems.
• India’s manufacturing prowess and technological superiority present a chance to use Make in India to gradually transform the nation into a more autonomous green economy and a hub for exporting green energy to other nations.
• India’s future economy should concentrate on renewable energy and circular economy solutions.

 Source The Hindu

3 – Archaeological Survey of India: GS II – Topic Statutory and Non-Statutory Bodies

Context:

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will set up a special committee to find and authenticate 24 protected monuments that have gone “missing.”
• The decision was made in defiance of the economic advisory council of the prime minister and repeated cautions from a parliamentary committee.

 About Archaeological Survey of India:

• The Archaeological Survey of India, or ASI, is associated with the Ministry of Culture of the Indian Government.
• It is in responsible of undertaking archaeological research and conservation in addition to safeguarding and maintaining historical monuments and archaeological sites across the country.
• The laws of the 1958 Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (AMASR Act) control all archaeological work in the nation.
• The Antiquities and Art Treasure Act of 1972 is also affected.
• It was created in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham, a British Army engineer with a passion for Indian archaeology.
• Alexander Cunningham is known as the “Father of Indian Archaeology.”
• Archaeological endeavours began considerably earlier, in the 18th century, when Sir William Jones and a group of antiquarians founded the Asiatic Society in 1784.
• When ASI won independence, the AMASR Act of 1958 established it as a statutory institution.
• The ASI’s headquarters in New Delhi are under the direction of a Director-General.
• The ASI preserves and guards more than 3500 protected monuments and archaeological sites of national importance.

The activities of the ASI:

• All archaeological research and excavation operations are carried out and supervised by the ASI in India.
• It also safeguards and protects historical sites.
• Ancient sites, national artefacts, and protected monuments are defended, protected, and preserved.
• It serves as a defence against chemical attacks on historical sites and artefacts.
• It conducts surveys of monuments’ architectural styles.
• It does research in numismatics and epigraphy.
• As a result, local museums are constructed.
• It disseminates archaeological information.
• It disseminates archaeology-related content.
• It also wants to conduct archaeological excavations outside of India.
• Horticultural activities are carried out at archaeological sites and in the vicinity.
• It is in charge of upholding both the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act of 1972 and the AMASR Act.
• The ASI is divided into specialised wings, such as those for excavation, prehistory, building survey projects, epigraphy, temple survey projects, research, and underwater archaeology.
• About 50 museums are managed by a designated Museums Branch across the country.

4 – Drug Use in India: GS II – Topic Social Issues

Context:

• In 2022, there were significantly more drug-related offences recorded to Kerala’s police and excise agency. This suggests that the state’s reliance on drugs has greatly increased.

Drug Addiction Threat:

• Drug abuse among Indian youth is becoming a bigger worry.
• India is surrounded by the Golden Triangle on one side and the Golden Crescent on the other, the two greatest opium-producing regions in the world.
• Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos make up the “golden triangle” region.
• Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan are all part of the “golden crescent” region.
• Alcohol is the substance that is abused the most commonly in India, according to the report Magnitude of Substance Use in India, which was published in 2019 by the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS).
• There were around 5 crore marijuana and opioid users in India at the time of the survey (conducted in the year 2018).
• There are 8.5 lakh estimated drug injectors.
• More than half of the predicted cases are spread throughout several states, including Punjab, Assam, Delhi, Haryana, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Uttar Pradesh.
• An estimated 60 lakh people require assistance for their opiate addiction issues.
• More children are drinking, and Punjab has the greatest proportion of young people who are addicted to alcohol, followed by West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
• To be accepted by others is one of the key motivations behind drug use.
• heightened economic stress
• Cultures’ values are evolving.
• psychological fulfilment
• insufficient police work.

Negative consequences of drug abuse:

• Increase in the likelihood of unintentional death, illness, domestic violence, and accidents.
• Potential for economic growth is lost.
• causes social and emotional issues by interfering with friendship and family ties.
• The cost of living is increasing.
• Drug use is harmful to our development, safety, tranquilly, and health.
• increased cases of TB, Hepatitis B, and C
• Criminal behaviour and even suicidal ideation can result from drug addiction, low self-esteem, and despair.

 Battle against the drug threat: challenges:

Drugs that Are Simple to Get:

• There is a serious issue with children frequently utilising cigarettes as a gateway drug or a form of experimenting.
• Additionally, the nation’s de-addiction institutions managed by NGOs have not been able to offer the right level of treatment and recovery.
• Trafficking in drugs drug trafficking between states with international borders, such Punjab, Assam, and Uttar Pradesh.

Initiatives of the Government to Combat Drug Abuse:

• In November 2016, it brought back the “Financial Assistance to States for Narcotics Control” project and established the Narco-Coordination Center (NCORD).
• Seizure Information Management System (SIMS), a new piece of software being developed by the Narcotics Control Bureau, will offer a comprehensive online database of drug offences and offenders.
• The “National Fund for Control of Drug Misuse” was formed by the government to cover costs associated with, among other things, stopping the illegal drug trade, helping addicts recover, and informing the public about drug use.
• In order to assess trends in drug use in India, the government is also conducting the National Drug Addiction Survey with assistance from the National Drug Dependence Treatment Center of AIIMS.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare started “Project Sunrise” in 2016 to tackle the rising HIV prevalence in India’s northeastern states, particularly among drug injectors.
• In 1985, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, or NDPS, was passed. Any form of narcotic or psychotropic substance manufacture, possession, sale, purchase, transportation, storage, usage, or consumption is forbidden.
• Since then, the NDPS Act has undergone three revisions, in 1988, 2001, and 2014.
• All of India, all Indians who live abroad, and all passengers on ships and aircraft with Indian registrations are covered by the Act.
• The “Nasha Mukt Bharat” or Drug-Free India Campaign, which emphasises community participation initiatives, has also been publicly launched by the government.

Global Arrangements to Combat the Drug Threat:

• India has ratified the following conventions and agreements to prevent drug abuse:
• International treaty on drugs that have psychotropic effects: Convention on Narcotic Drugs of the United Nations (1961).
• International Convention on Psychoactive Substances and Narcotic Drugs (1988)
• UNTOC 2000, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime

Way Forward:

• Instead than a personal failing, think of addiction as a sickness that anyone can have. Therefore, it’s imperative to lessen the stigma attached to drug use. The general public must recognise that drug users are victims, not criminals.
• There needs to be supervised while using agricultural medications that include more than 50% alcohol and opioids. To curb the drug epidemic in the nation, the police, excise, and narcotics authorities must take strict action. The NDPS Act must be correctly implemented.
• Another option is to make big political decisions like the one that prohibited alcohol in Bihar. The Directive Principles of State Policy require the state to intervene when individuals lack self-control (Article 47).
• Chapters on drug addiction, its effects, and de-addiction should be included in the curriculum. A different option is professional counselling.

 Source The Hindu