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GS Paper: Laws, Institutions & Bodies Constituted For The Vulnerable Sections

  • Labour code reforms address basic needs

    The article highlights the key provision of the labour code and how it will help in removing the various hurdles faced by the key stakeholders.

    Increase in the threshold for closure/lay-off and its impact

    • The Industrial Relations Code 2020 increased the threshold for retrenchment/closure or lay-off without requiring government approval, from 100 to 300 workers.
    • This will help in addressing the matter of expansion of the firms.
    • In 2014, Rajasthan had increased the threshold of taking prior permission of the government before retrenchment.
    • The reform has helped firms to set up larger operations in Rajasthan, and the same amendment was followed by 15 states.

    Fixed Term Employment(FTE): Ensuring flexibility and tackling exploitation

    • In many jobs employees are required for a few months such as infrastructure projects, textiles and garments, food and agro-processing, etc.
    • However, the contractual employment workforce is quite often exploited with respect to wages, social security, and working conditions as well as welfare facilities.
    • Fixed Term Employment is an intervention to enable the hiring of employees directly instead of hiring through contractors, which will ensure flexibility.
    • For employees, all statutory entitlements and service conditions equivalent to those of a regular employee have now been made applicable.
    • The Code on Industrial Relations also extends the benefit of gratuity even for an FTE contract of one year, which is five years in the case of regular employees.

    Strengthening the formal economy

    • The inclusion of the gig and platform workers in the Social Security Code 2020 is a step towards strengthening the formal economy.
    • The provision for insurance coverage has been extended to plantation workers, and free annual health check-ups and a bipartite safety committee has been introduced for establishments such as factories, mines and plantation sectors in place of hazardous factories.
    • The ESIC and EPFO requirements will now apply to establishments employing less than 10 and 20 workers respectively on a volunteer basis.

    Ensuring female labour force participation

    • Falling women’s workforce participation in India has been a matter of concern for a long time.
    • Female labour force participation is a driver of growth and, therefore, participation rates indicate the potential for a country to grow more rapidly.
    • The new Code ensures the employment of women in night shifts for all types of work.

    Expansions of the provisions for migrant workers

    • The Occupational Health, Safety & Working Conditions Code expands the definition of a migrant worker.
    • The expanded definition includes workers who would be directly employed by the employer besides those employed through a contractor.
    • Also a migrant, who comes on his own to the destination state, can declare himself a migrant worker by registering on an electronic portal.
    • Registration on the portal has been simplified and there is no requirement of any other document except Aadhaar.
    • For de-licencing/de-registration, it is mandated to notify registering officers about the closure of their establishment and certify payment of dues to all employed workers.
    • This will ensure that workers will not be exploited even during the closure of the concerned establishment.

    Other provisions

    • The introduction of a concept of conducting web-based inspections can be seen as an attempt of matching corporate needs in the digital world.
    • The provision for a 14-day notice period before strikes and lockdowns would allow both workers and employers to attempt resolving the issues.
    •  The codes also promote lifelong learning mechanism to match the evolving skill sets required for technology and process changes through the introduction of a reskilling fund.

    Consider the question “What are the various provision added in the three labour code and how it will help revive the economy and tackle barriers in the expansion of firms?”

    Conclusion

    The reform measures address basic needs — to revive the economy and tackle barriers in the expansion of firms. Moreover, they promote the employment of women as well as reskilling of the workforce for the deployment of migrants.

  • Changes in the labour laws needs to discussed and debated

    Increase in the jobs without employment security

    • Between 2004-05 and 2017-18, the share of salaried workers outside agriculture without any written contract increased from 60 per cent to 71 per cent.
    • Even in private and public limited companies, this share increased from 59 per cent to 71 per cent.
    • In the government and the public sector the share of such workers increasing from 27 per cent to 45 per cent over the period.
    • Many of the wage jobs in the organised sector came through contractors.
    • In organised manufacturing, the reported share of contract labour increased from 13 per cent in 1995-06 to 36 per cent in 2017-18.

    Policy response

    • A policy to deal with the problem of employment security was much needed.
    • The response came in the form the three revised labour Code Bills — on Industrial Relations, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions, and Social Security.
    • These were introduced in Parliament in the Monsoon Session, and approved on September 23.
    • These three labour codes, along with the Code on Wages approved earlier, touch the lives of every Indian worker.

     “Fixed term” worker

    • In 2018, the government amended the Standing Orders on Employment Act and introduced the category of “fixed term” worker.
    • That category creates a permanent cadre of temporary workers, with no prospects of career growth and job security.

    Changes and issues with the Bills

    • 1) Government had rationalised fixed-term employment by arguing that industries had resorted to the third-party engagement of contract labour to get around the rigidities in firing workers.
    • But that has not stopped the Codes from further liberalising the provisions relating to employment of contract labour and making their regulation applicable only in establishments employing 50 or more workers, instead of 20 or more.
    • 2) The key provisions which regulate the employment of inter-state migrant workers have been further diluted and made applicable only to establishments employing 10 or more such workers, compared to five earlier.
    • 3) Along with the provisions of retrenchment, the applicability of the Standing Orders, which regulate the categorisation as well as the terms of employment of workers in establishments, has also been raised from 100 to 300 workers.
    • 4) The threshold for factories has now been doubled — from 10 to 20 workers with power — thereby eliminating a large number of important regulatory provisions for the smaller factories.
    • 5) Relevant governments have been given much more leeway in exempting establishments from the applicability of a whole range of provisions in the Code.
    • 6) Inspection provisions have been diluted in all the Codes and will no longer even be complaints based.
    • 7)  The changes have also made legal industrial action a virtual impossibility, and the presence of unions less possible.

    Conclusion

    Informality contributes to inequality and to conditions which make sustainable growth impossible, and economic recovery more difficult. It also creates conditions in which employers under-invest in workers’ capacities and workers are not invested in a company’s future — leading to low productivity and lack of competitiveness.

  • Maharashtra modifies Forest Rights Act

    Maharashtra government has issued a notification modifying the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 that will enable tribals and other traditional forest dwelling families to build houses in the neighbourhood forest areas.

    Try this question for mains:

    Q.Forest dwellers are integral to the very survival and sustainability of the forest ecosystem. Analyse.

    Historical Background

    1878: The Forest Act of 1878 was introduced and it truncated the centuries-old traditional use by communities of their forests and secured the colonial governments control over the forestry. The provision of this Act established a virtual State monopoly over the forests in a legal sense on one hand, and attempted to establish, on the other, that the customary use of the forests by the villagers was not a ‘right’, but a ‘privilege’ that could be withdrawn at will.

    1927:  The Indian Forest Act, 1927. In continuance with the forest use policy of 1878, this landmark law – India’s main forest law, had nothing to do with conservation. It was created to serve the British need for timber. It sought to override customary rights and forest management systems by declaring forests state property and exploiting their timber.

    1952: ‘National interests’ overrode all interests and forests were viewed as a national asset. It was made clear that local priorities and interests and claims of the communities around forest areas should be subservient to larger national interests

    About the FRA, 2006

    • The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, is a key piece of forest legislation in India.
    • It has also been called the Forest Rights Act, the Tribal Rights Act, the Tribal Bill, and the Tribal Land Act. In the colonial era, the British diverted abundant forest wealth of the nation to meet their economic needs.
    • While the procedure for settlement of rights was provided under statutes such as the Indian Forest Act, 1927, these were hardly followed.
    • As a result, tribal and forest-dwelling communities, who had been living within the forests in harmony with the environment and the ecosystem, continued to live inside the forests in tenurial insecurity, a situation which continued even after independence as they were marginalised.
    • The symbiotic relationship between forests and forest-dwelling communities found recognition in the National Forest Policy, 1988.
    • The FRA, 2006, was enacted to protect the marginalised socio-economic class of citizens and balance the right to the environment with their right to life and livelihood.

    What empowers the Governor?

    • The notification has been issued by the Governor using his powers under subparagraph (1) of paragraph 5 of the Schedule V of the Constitution, according to a statement issued by Raj Bhavan.
    • PESA rules in the State have given recognition to many habitations as villages, but there is no provision for land for house-building.

    Significance of the move

    • The decision is likely to provide a major relief to Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest-dwelling families residing in the scheduled areas of the State.
    • The urban areas get increased FSI, the rural areas (on revenue lands) get the same too, but tribal villages (on forest lands) have no legal space for building houses.
    • The move aims to prevent the migration of forest-dwelling families outside their native villages and provide them with housing areas by extending the village site into forest land in their neighbourhood.

    Back2Basics: Fifth Schedule of the Constitution

    • It deals with the administration and control of Scheduled Areas as well as of Scheduled Tribes residing in any State other than the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram (ATM2).
    • In Article 244(1) of the Constitution, expression Scheduled Areas means such areas as the President may by order declare to be Scheduled Areas (SA).

    The President may at any time by order-

    1. direct that the whole or any specified part of SA shall cease to be a SA or a part of such an area;
    2. increase the area of any SA in a State after consultation with the Governor of that State;
    3. alter, but only by way of rectification of boundaries, any Scheduled Area;
    4. on any alteration of the boundaries of a State on the admission into the Union or the establishment of a new State, declare any territory not previously included in any State to be, or to form part of, a SA;
    5. rescind, in relation to any State of States, any order or orders made under these provisions and in consultation with the Governor of the State concerned, make fresh orders redefining the areas which are to be SA.
    • The Governor may, by public notification, direct that any particular Act of Parliament or of the Legislature of the State shall or shall not apply to a SA or any part thereof in the State, subject to such exceptions and modifications, as specified.
    • The Governor may make regulations for the peace and good government of any area in the State which is for the time being a SA. Such regulations may
    1. prohibit or restrict the transfer of land by or among members of the Scheduled Tribes in such area;
    2. regulate the allotment of land to members of the STs in such area;
    3. regulate the carrying on of business as money-lender by persons who lend money to members of the STs in such area.

    In making such regulations, the Governor may repeal or amend any Act of Parliament or of Legislature of the State or any existing law after obtaining the assent of the President.

  • What are Lok Adalats?

    A daily wager in Odisha has moved the Lok Adalat against PM after he allegedly failed to get an Aadhaar card registered in his name despite 21 attempts.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. With reference to National Legal Services Authority, consider the following statements:

    1. Its objective is to provide free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society on the basis of equal opportunity.
    2. It issues guidelines for the State Legal Services Authorities to implement the legal programmes and schemes throughout the country.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    What are Lok Adalats?

    • Lok Adalat (People’s Court) is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism.
    • The forum can settle cases pending on panchayat or at a pre-litigation stage in a court of law.
    • The decisions have statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
    • Under this Act, the award (decision) made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a case of a civil court, final and binding for all parties, and not subject to appeal.
    • It has broad powers to devise its procedures, compared to national courts.
    • If the parties do not recognise the Lok Adalat (though there is no provision for an appeal against such a prize), they may initiate litigation by approaching the court of appropriate jurisdiction.

  • Weighing in on the efficacy of female leadership

    The article analyses the issue of women representation and leadership.

    Role of female leaders in pandemic

    • Germany, Taiwan and New Zealand have women heading their governments.
    • Three countries seem to have managed the pandemic much better than their neighbours.
    • A detailed recent study by researchers in the United States reports that States which have female governors had fewer COVID-19 related deaths.
    •  The authors of the study conclude that women leaders are more effective than their male counterparts in times of crises.

    Role of women as pradhans in gram panchayats

    • Women leaders perform significantly better than men in implementing policies that promote the interests of women.
    • This was demonstrated in study conducted by Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo and co-author Raghabendra Chattopadhyay.
    • They used the system of mandated reservations of pradhans in gram panchayats to test the effectiveness of female leadership.
    • Study concluded that pradhans invested more in rural infrastructure that served better the needs of their own gender.
    • This is also an important goal from the perspective of gender equality.

    Underrepresentation of women in politics

    •  Female members make up only about 10% of the total ministerial strength in India.
    • The underrepresentation of female Ministers in India is also reflected in the fact that there is only one female Chief Minister.
    • Despite this, women constitute just over 14% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha.
    • This gives us the dismal rank of 143 out of 192 countries for which data are reported by the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

    State of Women’s Reservation Bill

    • Women running for elections face numerous challenges, it is essential to create a level-playing field through appropriate legal measures.
    • Attempts have also been made to extend quotas for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies through a Women’s Reservation Bill.
    •  Male members from several parties opposed the Bill on various pretexts.
    • Although the Rajya Sabha did pass the bill in 2010, the Lok Sabha and the State legislatures are yet to give their approval.
    • 24 years that have passed since it was first presented in the Lok Sabha.

    Way forward

    • Political parties can sidestep the logjam in Parliament by reserving say a third of party nominations for women.

    Conclusion

    There is substantial evidence showing that increased female representation in policy making goes a long way in improving perceptions about female effectiveness in leadership roles. This decreases the bias among voters against women candidates, and results in a subsequent increase in the percentage of female politicians contesting and winning elections.

  • New versions of labour codes – key proposals and concerns

    The government has introduced new versions of three labour codes – Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2020, Code on Social Security Bill, 2020 and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code Bill, 2020.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Disguised unemployment generally means:

    (a) A large number of people remain unemployed

    (b) Alternative employment is not available

    (c) Marginal productivity of labour is zero

    (d) Productivity of workers is low

    What are the key proposals?

    (1) Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2020

    • In this, the government has proposed to introduce more conditions restricting the rights of workers to strike, alongside an increase in the threshold relating to layoffs and retrenchment.
    • The Code has raised the threshold for the requirement of a standing order — rules of conduct for workmen employed in industrial establishments — to over 300 workers.
    • This implies industrial establishments with up to 300 workers will not be required to furnish a standing order, a move which experts say would enable companies to introduce arbitrary service conditions for workers.
    • These steps are likely to provide more flexibility to employers for hiring and firing workers without government permission.

    (2) Social Security Code

    • It proposes a National Social Security Board which shall recommend to the central government for formulating suitable schemes for different sections of unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers.
    • Also, aggregators employing gig workers will have to contribute 1-2 per cent of their annual turnover for social security, with the total contribution not exceeding 5 per.

    (3) Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code

    • This code has defined inter-state migrant workers as the worker who has come on his own from one state and obtained employment in another state, earning up to Rs 18,000 a month.
    • The proposed definition makes a distinction from the present definition of only contractual employment.
    • The Code, however, has dropped the earlier provision for temporary accommodation for workers near the worksites.
    • It has though proposed a journey allowance — a lump sum amount of fare to be paid by the employer for to and fro journey of the worker to his/her native place from the place of his/her employment.

    What are the other proposals for workers?

    • The IR Code Bill has also proposed a worker re-skilling fund.
    • The contributions for the fund are only detailed from the employer of an industrial establishment amounting to fifteen days wages last drawn by the worker immediately before the retrenchment along with the contribution from such other sources.
    • The mention of ‘other sources’ for funding the re-skilling fund is vague.

    What are the concerns raised over the new labour codes?

    • Analysts say the increase in the threshold for standing orders will water down the labour rights for workers in small establishments having less than 300 workers.
    • The increase is uncalled for and shows the government is very keen to give tremendous amounts of flexibility to the employers in terms of hiring and firing.
    • Dismissal for alleged misconduct and retrenchment for economic reasons will be completely possible for all the industrial establishments employing less than 300 workers.
    • The Industrial Relations Code also introduces new conditions for carrying out a legal strike.
    • The time period for arbitration proceedings has been included in the conditions for workers before going on a legal strike as against only the time for conciliation at present.

  • Examining the legislative error of disentitling daughters

    The article highlights the importance of the latest Supreme Court Judgement making daughter coparcener in own right by birth removing the conditions laid down in the previous judgement.

    Background

    • In Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020), the Supreme Court held that a coparcener’s daughter would become a coparcener in her own right by birth.

    Amendment in 2005 and related SC judgement

    • There is a difference between rights conferred by the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 and the amendment to that act in 2005.
    • In 1956 Act, equal right of succession at par with a son was given to a daughter, but only after the demise of the father or mother.
    • The 2005 amendment gave the right to property to a daughter in a joint Hindu family during the lifetime of the father.
    • In Prakash v. Phulavati 2005, the Supreme Court decided on the prospectivity or retrospectivity of the law creating coparcenary rights in favour of daughters.
    • It created a condition that the rights under the amendment are applicable only to living daughters of living coparceners as on September 9, 2005; however, it gave no reason as to why this was chosen as a condition.
    • The status of a daughter to be subject to her father being alive is apparently a mistake.
    • The death of an individual should not determine the rights of their heirs.
    • If any right had accrued in the daughter’s favour by a legislation, the same can’t be disturbed by death of her father.

    What the SC said in latest judgement

    • In the present judgment, Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma , the court rightly held that as laid down in Section 6 (1) (a), daughter is to be a coparcener by birth; so there is no question of being prospective or retrospective.
    • It is the physical status that matters and should not be linked to a date.
    • Even in the case of unregistered partition deeds executed before December 20, 2004, the court has opened a new window for daughters.
    • Daughters can claim a right even in an unregistered partition deed which has not been proved conclusively.

    Conclusion

    There is a need to examine all the existing laws and wherever discriminatory practices exist, they need to be amended appropriately.

  • UN’s guidelines on Access to Social Justice for People with Disabilities

    The United Nations has released it’s first-ever guidelines on access to social justice for people with disabilities to make it easier for them to access justice systems around the world.

    Note: These guidelines can be used in mains answer while substantiating their rights.

    Defining a person with a disability

    • The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted in 2007 as the first major instrument of human rights in the 21st century.
    • It defines persons with disabilities as those “who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others”.

    Highlights of the Guidelines

    The guidelines outline a set of 10 principles and detail the steps for implementation. The 10 principles are:

    • Principle 1: All persons with disabilities have the legal capacity and, therefore, no one shall be denied access to justice on the basis of disability.
    • Principle 2: Facilities and services must be universally accessible to ensure equal access to justice without discrimination of persons with disabilities.
    • Principle 3: PWDS including children with disabilities, have the right to appropriate procedural accommodations.
    • Principle 4: PWDS have the right to access legal notices and information in a timely and accessible manner on an equal basis with others.
    • Principle 5: PWDS are entitled to all substantive and procedural safeguards recognized in international law on an equal basis with others, and States must provide the necessary accommodations to guarantee due process.
    • Principle 6: PWDS have the right to free or affordable legal assistance.
    • Principle 7: PWDS have the right to participate in the administration of justice on an equal basis with others.
    • Principle 8: PWDS have the rights to report complaints and initiate legal proceedings concerning human rights violations and crimes, have their complaints investigated and be afforded effective remedies.
    • Principle 9: Effective and robust monitoring mechanisms play a critical role in supporting access to justice for persons with disabilities.
    • Principle 10: All those working in the justice system must be provided with awareness-raising and training programmes addressing the rights of persons with disabilities, in particular in the context of access to justice.

    Significance for India

    • As per statistics maintained by the UN, in India 2.4 per cent of males are disabled and two per cent of females from all age groups are disabled.
    • Disabilities include psychological impairment, intellectual impairment, speaking, multiple impairments, hearing, seeing among others.
    • In comparison, the disability prevalence in the US is 12.9 per cent among females and 12.7 per cent among males.
    • Disability prevalence in the UK is at 22.7 per cent among females and 18.7 per cent among males.

  • States can have sub-groups among SCs/STs: Supreme Court

    A five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court has held that States can sub-classify Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Central List to provide preferential treatment to the “weakest out of the weak”.

    Try this question for mains;

    Q.Reservation is no more seen by the Supreme Court as an exception to the equality rule; rather, it is a facet of equality. Discuss this in light of the quest for sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes/Tribes.

    What is the sub-categorisation of SCs?

    • States have argued that among the SCs, there are some that remain grossly under-represented despite reservation in comparison to other SCs.
    • This inequality within the SCs is underlined in several reports, and special quotas have been framed to address it.
    • For example, in AP, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Bihar, special quotas were introduced for the most vulnerable Dalits.
    • In 2007, Bihar set up the Mahadalit Commission to identify the castes within SCs that were left behind.

    About the Judgement

    • The judgment is based on a reference to the Constitution Bench the question of law involving Section 4(5) of the Punjab Scheduled Caste and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act, 2006.
    • The legal provision allows 50% of the reserved Scheduled Castes seats in the State to be allotted to Balmikis and Mazhabi Sikhs.

    There lies struggle within castes: SC

    • There is a “caste struggle” within the reserved class as a benefit of reservation is being usurped by a few, the court pointed out.
    • The million-dollar question is how to trickle down the benefit to the bottom rung.
    • It is clear that caste, occupation, and poverty are interwoven.
    • The State cannot be deprived of the power to take care of the qualitative and quantitative difference between different classes… to take ameliorative measures, said the judgment.

    Overruling the old judgment

    • With this, the Bench took a contrary view to a 2004 judgment delivered by another Coordinate Bench of five judges in the E.V. Chinnaiah case.
    • The judgment had held that allowing States to unilaterally “make a class within a class of members of the Scheduled Castes” would amount to tinkering with the Presidential list.
    • The judgment is significant as it fully endorses the push to extend the creamy layer concept to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
    • Citizens cannot be treated to be socially and educationally backwards till perpetuity; those who have come up must be excluded like the creamy layer, the judgment said.

    What is the Presidential list?

    • The Constitution, while providing for special treatment of SCs and STs to achieve equality, does not specify the castes and tribes that are to be called SCs and STs.
    • This power is left to the central executive — the President. As per Article 341, those castes notified by the President are called SCs and STs.
    • A caste notified as SC in one state may not be an SC in another state. These vary from state to state to prevent disputes as to whether a particular caste is accorded reservation or not.
    • According to the annual report of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, there were 1,263 SCs in the country in 2018-19.
    • No community has been specified as SC in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
    • The Constitution treats all Schedule Castes as a single homogeneous group.

    Arguments against sub-categorisation

    • The argument is that the test or requirement of social and educational backwardness cannot be applied to SCs and STs.
    • The special treatment is given to the SCs due to untouchability with which they suffer.
    • In a 1976 case, State of Kerala v N M Thomas, the Supreme Court laid down that “Scheduled Castes are not castes, they are class.”
    • The petitioner’s argument against allowing states to change the proportion of reservation is also based on the perception that such decisions will be made to appease one vote-bank or the other.
    • A watertight President’s list was envisaged to protect from such potential arbitrary change.

    Way ahead with the Judgement

    • The judgement reasoned that sub-classifications within the Presidential/Central List do not amount to “tinkering” with it.
    • No caste is excluded from the list. The States only give preference to weakest of the lot in a pragmatic manner based on statistical data.
    • Preferential treatment to ensure even distribution of reservation benefits to the more backward is a facet of the right to equality, judgement observed.

    Also read:

    [Burning Issue] SC judgement on Reservation not being a Fundamental Right

  • Increasing age of marriage will be exercise of carceral power by state

    The article examines the issue of the age of marriage of girls and its relation with their education level and economic status.

    Trends in early marriage

    • The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) data 2015-16 points to certain trends in early marriages:
    • That rural women are likely to marry earlier than their urban counterparts.
    • The higher up a woman is on the wealth quintile, the later she marries.
    • Most importantly, it establishes a direct causal link between education levels and delayed age of marriage.
    • Women with 12 years or more of schooling are most likely to marry later.
    • Only 8 per cent rural girls who drop out in the age group 6 to 17 years cite marriage as the reason.

    Impact on STs and SCs

    • According to the wealth quintile data, the poorest households are concentrated in rural India.
    • The lowest quintile, which is most likely to marry off their girls early out of socio-economic necessities, have 45 per cent of the Scheduled Tribe (ST) and 25.9 per cent Scheduled castes.
    • The NFHS-4 data on women aged 15-49 by number of years of schooling completed shows that 42 per cent ST women and 33 per cent SC women have received no schooling.

    Issues

    • Marriages in India are governed by various personal laws which set varying minimum ages for girls as also the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006, where it is 18 years for girls and 21 for boys.
    • This is compounded by The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, that increased the age of consent, from 16 years to 18 years.
    • Several studies have shown how this has criminalised self-arranged adolescent marriages as parents often misuse it to punish couples marrying without their approval, especially in cases of inter-caste marriages.

    Way forward

    • The National Human Rights Commission showed how higher education levels lead to a lower likelihood of women being married early and recommended that the Right to Education Act, 2009, be amended to make it applicable up to the age of 18 years.
    • Noting the law’s patriarchal underpinnings, the 18th Law Commission report (2008) asked for uniformity in the age of marriage at 18 years for both men and women and lowering the age of consent to 16 years. Government could act on such a recommendation.

    Consider the question “What are the advantages of increasing the minimum age of marriage for girls. Also, examine the issues with the move.

    Conclusion

    The median age at first marriage for both men and women in India has registered a significant decadal improvement with more people now marrying later than ever before. Any attempt to leapfrog through quick-fix and ill-conceived punitive measures will only considerably reverse these gains.