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  • Labour, Jobs and Employment – Harmonization of labour laws, gender gap, unemployment, etc.

    [25th Dcember 2025] The Hindu OpED: New labour codes, the threats to informal workers

    op-ed snap | Social Justice | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies

    [UPSC 2024] Discuss the merits and demerits of the four ‘Labour Codes’ in the context of labour market reforms in India. What has been the progress so far in this regard?

    Linkage: This question directly falls under GS Paper III, Labour Reform, testing the ability to critically evaluate structural labour market reforms under liberalisation. The article on new labour codes provides concrete evidence on demerits which can be used to balance the “merits vs demerits” and assess reform progress.

    Introduction

    India enacted four labour codes in 2019-20 to consolidate existing labour laws relating to wages, industrial relations, social security, and occupational safety. While projected as universalising worker welfare, the codes substantially marginalise unorganised workers, who constitute over 90% of India’s workforce and contribute nearly 65% of GDP. The article flags structural exclusions, regulatory dilution, and erosion of welfare institutions affecting informal labour across sectors.

    Why in the News

    The issue has gained prominence as States, including Tamil Nadu, deliberate on notifying rules under the Social Security Code. Unions and worker organisations have intensified opposition, citing first-time dismantling of long-standing welfare boards, dilution of inspection systems, and absence of funding guarantees. The transition marks a sharp departure from sector-specific, State-level welfare architectures built over decades.

    What are the new labour codes and how were they enacted?

    1. Legislative Consolidation: Replaced 29 labour laws with four codes covering wages, industrial relations, social security, and occupational safety.
    2. Consultative Deficit: Enacted without tripartite consultation at the Indian Labour Conference, violating established labour law-making practice.
    3. Coverage Gap: Unorganised workers excluded from consideration in three codes, except limited mention in the Social Security Code.

    How do the codes affect unorganised workers structurally?

    1. Workforce Magnitude: Unorganised workers constitute over 90% of India’s workforce and generate 65% of GDP.
    2. Policy Blindness: Codes assume uniform work conditions, ignoring sectoral diversity across agriculture, construction, salt pans, beedi, mining, and domestic work.
    3. Legal Erasure: Repeal of sector-specific laws removes tailored protections evolved over decades.

    How does consolidation weaken occupational safety and health?

    1. Regulatory Dilution: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSHWC) Code replaces site-based inspections with process-based systems.
    2. Safety Deficit: Absence of nearly 180 safety rules earlier applicable to construction sites under BOCW Act.
    3. International Violation: Contravenes ILO Convention 81, ratified by India, mandating effective labour inspections.

    Why are occupational diseases inadequately addressed?

      1. Sectoral Health Risks:
    • Construction: High prevalence of silicosis.
    • Agriculture: Cancer linked to pesticide exposure.
    • Salt Work: Chronic eye, skin, and kidney diseases.
    1. Institutional Gap: OSHWC Code ignores diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation obligations.
    2. Convention Breach: Violates ILO Convention 161, which mandates national occupational health services.

    How does the Social Security Code undermine welfare boards?

    1. Institutional Replacement: Creates a single national welfare board with no sectoral differentiation.
    2. Board Dissolution Risk: Threatens dissolution of 39 State-level welfare boards in Tamil Nadu.
    3. Benefit Loss: Eliminates protections such as old-age pensions, maternity assistance, and education support for workers’ children.

    What are the funding-related risks under the new framework?

    1. Cess Abolition: Removes sector-specific cesses (beedi, salt, mining) without replacement revenue.
    2. Funding Uncertainty: No guaranteed employer contribution for welfare funds.
    3. Unutilised Corpus: Centralised e-Shram registration may allow Centre to access nearly ₹11 lakh crore in unspent welfare funds, especially from construction sector.

    How have States responded to these changes?

    1. Legislative Resistance: Andhra Pradesh shut down welfare boards post-codes.
    2. Institutional Strength: Tamil Nadu retains strong welfare architecture under the Tamil Nadu Manual Workers Act, 1982.
    3. Worker Coverage: Approximately 3 crore informal workers registered across welfare boards in Tamil Nadu.

    What needs to be done?

    1. Institutional Protection: Preserve State-level welfare boards and sector-specific laws.
    2. Fiscal Safeguards: Retain saving clauses for welfare funds and statutory cesses.
    3. Legislative Resistance: Refuse notification of rules under the codes, as done by Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
    4. Welfare Continuity: Strengthen existing State welfare infrastructure instead of centralisation.

    Conclusion

    The four labour codes mark a significant shift in India’s labour market architecture by prioritising consolidation, flexibility, and ease of compliance. However, as highlighted in the article, this reform has simultaneously weakened occupational safety regimes, dismantled sector-specific welfare institutions, and left unorganised workers, who form the backbone of the economy, without assured social security or funding guarantees. Unless States retain and strengthen existing welfare boards, inspection mechanisms, and financing arrangements, labour market reforms risk deepening informality and inequality rather than enabling inclusive and sustainable growth.

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  • Industrial Sector Updates – Industrial Policy, Ease of Doing Business, etc.

    Why manufacturing has lagged in India

    Explained | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Effects Of Liberalization On The Economy, Changes In Industrial Policy and their effects on Industrial Growth,Indian Economy

    Introduction

    Manufacturing has historically been the backbone of structural transformation, productivity growth, and mass employment. While economies such as China and South Korea used manufacturing to transition from agrarian to industrial societies, India’s manufacturing share in GDP has stagnated and, in recent years, declined relative to services. 

    Why in the News?

    India’s manufacturing sector has recently lost relative ground to services, despite decades of policy emphasis on industrialisation. This is significant because manufacturing traditionally absorbs surplus labour and drives productivity convergence. The article highlights a sharp contrast with China and South Korea, where manufacturing shares expanded rapidly. A key concern raised is that high public sector wages, limited technological upgrading, and reliance on services-led growth have made Indian manufacturing less competitive, contributing to wage stagnation, inequality, and weak employment outcomes.

    Why has India lagged behind China and South Korea in manufacturing growth?

    1. Relative manufacturing performance: Shows India’s manufacturing share in GDP remaining stagnant while China and South Korea experienced sustained expansion.
    2. Structural divergence: Reflects different growth models, with India relying on services while East Asia leveraged labour-intensive manufacturing.
    3. Growth consequences: Results in weaker productivity growth and limited mass employment creation.

    How do public sector wages distort manufacturing competitiveness?

    1. High government salaries: Raise economy-wide wage benchmarks beyond productivity levels in manufacturing.
    2. Cost escalation: Increases prices of non-tradable services, raising input costs for manufacturing firms.
    3. Labour diversion: Pulls skilled workers away from manufacturing into public employment.
    4. Competitiveness impact: Makes Indian manufactured goods less competitive in global markets.

    What is the role of the ‘Dutch disease’ mechanism in India’s case?

    1. Conceptual framework: Explains how income windfalls distort relative prices across sectors.
    2. Indian variant: Public sector wage expansion acts as a de facto windfall similar to natural resource booms.
    3. Real exchange rate appreciation: Makes imports cheaper and exports less competitive.
    4. Manufacturing crowding-out: Reduces incentives for domestic industrial production.

    Why has technological upgrading in manufacturing remained weak?

    1. Limited productivity pressure: Firms rely on cheap labour rather than innovation.
    2. Absence of induced innovation: High wages have not translated into capital-intensive or technology-driven growth.
    3. Contrast with East Asia: China and South Korea used competitive pressures to upgrade technology.
    4. Outcome: Indian manufacturing remains trapped in low productivity equilibrium.

    How has services-led growth shaped income distribution and employment?

    1. Skewed wage growth: Benefits high-skill workers disproportionately.
    2. Inequality expansion: Concentrates income gains among elite service sector employees.
    3. Employment mismatch: Services fail to absorb surplus labour from agriculture.
    4. Structural imbalance: Weakens broad-based economic transformation.

    Why has private sector dynamism not translated into manufacturing expansion?

    1. Sectoral allocation: Private investment favours services over manufacturing.
    2. Technological complacency: Growth driven by labour abundance rather than innovation.
    3. Limited spillovers: Services growth generates fewer backward and forward linkages.
    4. Long-term constraint: Manufacturing stagnation limits sustained productivity gains.

    Conclusion

    India’s manufacturing stagnation is best understood as a structural political-economy outcome rather than a cyclical or policy-intent failure. The article demonstrates that high public sector wages, acting as an economy-wide benchmark, have raised costs, appreciated the real exchange rate, and weakened manufacturing competitiveness. Simultaneously, services-led growth has generated productivity and income gains without inducing technological upgrading or mass employment, unlike East Asian manufacturing-led transitions. In the absence of sustained productivity pressure and induced innovation, Indian manufacturing has remained trapped in a low-productivity equilibrium. Reversing this trajectory requires addressing wage–productivity mismatches, technology incentives, and structural distortions, without which manufacturing cannot play its intended role in employment generation and inclusive growth.

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2017] Account for the failure of the manufacturing sector in achieving the goal of labor-intensive exports. Suggest measures for more labor-intensive rather than capital-intensive exports. 

    Linkage: The article directly explains manufacturing failure through public sector wage distortions, weak technological upgrading, real exchange rate appreciation, and services-led growth. This offers a structural political-economy explanation to this question.

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  • Forest Conservation Efforts – NFP, Western Ghats, etc.

    The great wall in the North: Why the Aravallis matter

    Explained | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Introduction

    The Aravalli range, dating back over a billion years to the Precambrian era, stretches approximately 700 km across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi. Despite being one of the most degraded mountain systems in India, it remains central to water security, climate regulation, biodiversity conservation, and livelihood support in north and north-western India. The current policy moment exposes tensions between mineral exploitation, urbanisation, and ecological protection.

    Why in the News

    The Aravalli range has returned to public debate following a new definition notified by the Centre in October 2023, subsequently accepted by the Supreme Court in November, which excludes nearly 90% of the Aravalli landscape from protection against mining and development. This marks a sharp departure from earlier judicial and administrative approaches, which treated large parts of the range as ecologically sensitive regardless of formal forest classification.

    How extensive is the Aravalli range and why does its geography matter?

    1. Spatial spread: Extends across four states and 37 districts, underscoring inter-state ecological interdependence.
    2. Length and distribution: Covers about 700 km, with 560 km located in Rajasthan alone, indicating uneven conservation pressures.
    3. Topographical role: Forms a physical barrier separating the Thar Desert from the Indo-Gangetic plains, limiting eastward sand movement.

    Why are the Aravallis described as a natural sand and climate barrier?

    1. Desertification control: Blocks desert sand from advancing into Delhi, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh, reducing dust storms and land degradation.
    2. Air quality protection: Prevents sand ingress that worsens air pollution episodes in urban centres such as Delhi-NCR.
    3. Climate moderation: Acts as a climatic shield for north-west India, similar in function to the Western Ghats for peninsular India.

    What role do the Aravallis play in groundwater recharge and river systems?

    1. Aquifer recharge: Rocky, fractured, and porous formations allow rainwater to percolate underground instead of surface runoff.
    2. Water security: Supports groundwater reserves for rapidly expanding urban centres such as Gurugram, Faridabad, and Sohna.
    3. River origins: Forms part of the watershed for rivers flowing into both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, including tributaries linked to the Chambal system.

    How does the Aravalli ecosystem support biodiversity and wildlife?

    1. Habitat diversity: Supports dry deciduous, semi-arid, and savanna ecosystems, enabling species adaptation in arid conditions.
    2. Protected areas: Hosts 22 wildlife sanctuaries, with 16 in Rajasthan alone.
    3. Tiger reserves: Includes Ranthambore, Sariska, and Mukundra, three of India’s critical tiger landscapes.
    4. Species presence: Supports fauna such as leopard, sloth bear, hyena, jackal, desert fox, and diverse avifauna.

    What human activities are driving the degradation of the Aravallis?

    1. Mining and quarrying: Extensive legal and illegal extraction of stone and minerals, weakening hill structures.
    2. Deforestation: Reduces soil stability and accelerates erosion.
    3. Urbanisation: Expansion of cities like Gurugram and Alwar encroaches on hill systems and recharge zones.
    4. Ecological fragmentation: Creation of at least 12 major gaps in the range, enabling desert sand movement eastwards.

    Why has the new Aravalli definition triggered concern?

    1. Regulatory dilution: Redefines Aravallis largely based on elevation and revenue records, excluding large ecologically active areas.
    2. Protection rollback: Removes mining and development restrictions from nearly 90% of the range.
    3. Ecological risk: Weakens safeguards for groundwater recharge zones and wildlife corridors.
    4. Governance gap: Shifts focus from ecosystem function to narrow land classification criteria.

    Conclusion

    The Aravalli range functions as a critical ecological infrastructure for northern India by regulating desert expansion, sustaining groundwater recharge, and supporting biodiversity across a densely populated region. The ongoing degradation of the range, driven by mining, deforestation, and regulatory dilution, undermines these life-supporting functions and amplifies risks of desertification, water stress, and ecological fragmentation. Ensuring landscape-level protection of the Aravallis is therefore essential not merely for environmental conservation, but for long-term economic resilience and human security in north and north-western India.
    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2020] The process of desertification does not have climatic boundaries. Justify with examples.

    Linkage: This question is relevant to GS-I (Physical Geography) as it examines desertification as a geomorphological and environmental process driven by both climatic and anthropogenic factors. The Aravalli degradation exemplifies how mining, deforestation, and urbanisation enable desert expansion beyond arid climatic zones, validating the non-climatic spread of desertification.

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Long-billed Vulture 

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Why in the News?

    The Bombay Natural History Society, along with the Maharashtra Forest Department, successfully tagged 15 long billed vultures at Melghat Tiger Reserve to support conservation and tracking efforts.

    About Long-Billed Vulture

    • An Old World vulture native to the Asian region
    • Also called Indian long billed vulture due to its elongated beak
    • Medium sized, bulky scavenger feeding mainly on animal carcasses
    • Females are smaller than males

    Habitat and Distribution

    • Found in savannas and open landscapes
    • Common near villages, towns, and cultivated areas
    • Native to India, Pakistan, and Nepal

    Conservation Status

    • IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
    • Population decline mainly linked to diclofenac poisoning, habitat loss, and food scarcity
    Vultures which used to be very common in Indian countryside some years ago are rarely seen nowadays. This is attributed to: (2016)

    (a) the destruction of their nesting sites by new invasive species 

    (b) a drug used by cattle owners for treating their diseased cattle 

    (c) scarcity of food available to them 

    (d) a widespread, persistent and fatal disease among them

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  • Defence Sector – DPP, Missions, Schemes, Security Forces, etc.

    Samudra Pratap

    Prelims Only | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Border Area Security Challenges

     Why in the News?

    The Indian Coast Guard inducted Samudra Pratap, the first indigenously built Pollution Control Vessel (PCV), under the 02 PCV project of Goa Shipyard Limited.

    About Samudra Pratap

    • First indigenously designed and built Pollution Control Vessel of the Indian Coast Guard
      • Largest ship in the ICG fleet
      • Built to enhance marine pollution response, firefighting, and high-precision operations

    Advanced Onboard Systems

    • Integrated Bridge System (IBS)
      • Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS)
      • Automated Power Management System (APMS)
      • High capacity external firefighting system

    Prelims Pointers

    • Samudra Pratap is a Pollution Control Vessel, not an offshore patrol vessel
       • Built by Goa Shipyard Limited
       • First ICG ship with Dynamic Positioning DP 1
       • Focused on pollution response and firefighting, not combat dominance
    Which one of the following is the best description of ‘INS Astradharini’, that was in the news recently? (2016)

    (a) Amphibious warfare ship 

    (b) Nuclear-powered submarine 

    (c) Torpedo launch and recovery vessel 

    (d) Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

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  • Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

    Thanjavur Painting 

    Prelims Only | Art and Culture | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

     Why in the News?

    The Department of Posts successfully transported a priceless Thanjavur painting of Shri Ram from Bengaluru to Ayodhya using its Logistics Post service.

    About Thanjavur Painting

    • A classical South Indian painting tradition that originated in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, around 1600 AD
      • Also known as Tanjore paintings
      • Traditionally painted on wooden panels called palagai padam
      • Flourished under the Nayakas of Thanjavur
      • Awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag

    Materials and Technique

    • Base prepared using canvas pasted on wooden planks
      • Wooden boards commonly made from jackfruit or teak wood
      • Binding medium includes Arabic gum

    Prelims Pointers

    • Thanjavur paintings are panel paintings, not mural paintings
      • Gold foil and embossed gesso work are defining features
      • Originated in early modern South India, not ancient period
      • GI tag helps protect traditional knowledge and artisans
    Kalamkari painting refers to: (2015)

    (a) a hand-painted cotton textile in South India 

    (b) a handmade drawing on bamboo handicrafts in North-East India 

    (c) a block-painted woollen cloth in Western Himalayan region of India 

    (d) a hand-painted decorative silk cloth in North-Western India

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  • Defence Sector – DPP, Missions, Schemes, Security Forces, etc.

    K 4 Missile  

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Achievements Of Indians In S&T

    Why in the News?

    India successfully tested the K 4 submarine launched ballistic missile from INS Arighaat in the Bay of Bengal, strengthening its sea based nuclear deterrence.

    About K 4 Missile

    • Also known as Kalam 4 (K 4)
      • Nuclear capable intermediate range submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM)
      • Designed mainly for deployment on Arihant class submarine
      • Indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation
    • Each Arihant class submarine can carry four K 4 missiles

    Key Features

    • Length about 12 metres
      • Weight around 17 tonnes
      • Two stage solid fuel propulsion system
      • Maximum range around 3,500 km
      • Payload capacity up to 2 tonnes, including nuclear warhead

    Prelims Pointers

    • K 4 is an SLBM, not a cruise missile
       • Operates from nuclear powered submarines
       • Uses NavIC for navigation support
       • Part of India’s indigenous strategic weapons programme
    Consider the following statements: (2023)

    1. Ballistic missiles are jet-propelled at subsonic speeds throughout their flights, while cruise missiles are rocket-powered only in the initial phase of flight. 

    2. Agni-V is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile, while BrahMos is a solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile. 

    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

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  • Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

    Haka Dance

    Prelims Only | Art and Culture | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    Why in the News?

    A Sikh Nagar Kirtan or religious procession in South Auckland, New Zealand, was recently protested through the performance of a traditional haka dance.

    About Haka Dance

    • Haka is a traditional ceremonial dance of the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand.
    • It is characterised by vigorous movements, rhythmic stamping, hand gestures, and chanting.
    • A key feature is pūkana, which refers to intense facial expressions including widened eyes and protruding tongue.
    • Haka is not a single dance. It varies by tribe (iwi) and region, with each haka often narrating stories of ancestry, warfare, achievements, or important historical events.

    Global Recognition

    • Gained worldwide fame after being adopted as a pre match ritual by New Zealand’s national rugby team, the All Blacks, in the early 20th century.
    • In November 2024, haka drew global attention when two lawmakers performed it inside the New Zealand Parliament to protest against a proposed bill.

    Prelims Pointers

    • Haka is not always a war dance. It also conveys respect, mourning, and celebration.
      • It is a key expression of intangible cultural heritage of the Māori people.
      • Facial expressions and vocalisation are as important as physical movements.
    With reference to the famous Sattriya dance, consider the following statements: (2024)

    1. Sattriya is a combination of music, dance and drama. 

    2. It is a centuries-old living tradition of Vaishnavites of Assam. 

    3. It is based on classical Ragas and Talas of devotional songs composed by Tulsidas, Kabir and Mirabai. 

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 

    (a) 1 only (b) 1 and 2 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 only

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  • MGNREGA Scheme

    [24th December 2025] The Hindu OpED: The VB-G RAM G Act 2025 fixes structural gaps

    op-ed snap | Social Justice | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2023] Most of the unemployment in India is structural in nature. Examine the methodology adopted to compute unemployment in the country and suggest improvements.

    Linkage: The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 directly addresses structural unemployment and episodic employment by strengthening the statutory employment guarantee. The Act’s emphasis on advance planning, enhanced person-days, and timely payments responds to long-standing concerns over the mitigation of rural unemployment.

    Mentor’s Comment

    The enactment of the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 marks a decisive recalibration of India’s rural employment guarantee framework. Amid debates on fiscal withdrawal, centralisation, and dilution of rights, this article examines how the Act addresses long-standing structural and implementation gaps in MGNREGA while preserving its legal core.

    Introduction

    The President’s assent to the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 enhances the statutory rural employment guarantee from 100 to 125 days. Contrary to claims of dilution, the Act seeks to correct fragmentation, weak enforceability, episodic employment, and accountability deficits that emerged during earlier phases of implementation.

    Reframing Welfare and Development as Complementary

    1. Conceptual Continuum: Treats income support, asset creation, agricultural stability, and long-term rural productivity as interlinked outcomes rather than competing objectives.
    2. Statutory Anchoring: Retains the justiciable right to employment while strengthening enforceability through procedural reforms.
    3. Design Philosophy: Embeds welfare delivery within durable infrastructure creation and productivity enhancement.

    Expansion and Strengthening of Legal Entitlements

    1. Enhanced Employment Guarantee: Expands guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days, reversing stagnation in entitlements.
    2. Removal of Dilutionary Provisions: Eliminates procedural disincentives that earlier nullified unemployment allowance in practice.
    3. Grievance Redressal: Reinforces time-bound grievance mechanisms to address delayed payments and denial of work.

    Institutionalisation of Demand-Based Employment

    1. Worker-Centric Demand: Preserves demand-based employment generation, ensuring work availability when demanded rather than post-distress.
    2. Advance Planning: Anchors employment planning at the village level, preventing administrative denial of work.
    3. Operational Efficiency: Transforms planning into a facilitative tool rather than a demand-suppressing mechanism.

    Correcting Fragmentation through Coordinated Decentralisation

    1. Gram Panchayat Primacy: Retains gram panchayats as primary planning and implementing authorities with approval powers over local plans.
    2. Vertical Integration: Aggregates village plans at block, district, and state levels to enable inter-sectoral convergence.
    3. Decision Authority: Centralises coherence without centralising execution, correcting fragmentation while preserving decentralisation.

    Fiscal Architecture and Equity-Based Allocation

    1. Budgetary Expansion: Increases allocations from ₹33,000 crore (2013-14) to ₹86,000 crore (2024-25).
    2. Enhanced Central Contribution: Raises the Centre’s share from ₹86,000 crore to nearly ₹95,000 crore, countering claims of withdrawal.
    3. Funding Model: 60:40 Centre-State structure for general states; accords 90:10 for northeastern, Himalayan states and Jammu & Kashmir.
    4. Normative Allocation: Ensures equity through rule-based state-wise allocations determined by objective parameters.

    Improved Delivery Outcomes and Financial Inclusion

    1. Person-Days Generated: Increases from 1,660 crore (pre-2014) to 3,210 crore, stabilising thereafter.
    2. Completed Works: Expands completed assets from 153 lakh to 862 lakh, addressing episodic employment
    3. Women’s Participation: Rises from 48% to 56.73%, strengthening gender inclusion.
    4. Payment Efficiency: Achieves 99% on-time fund transfers; links nearly all active workers to Aadhaar Payment Bridge.

    Addressing Structural Weaknesses of the Earlier Framework

    1. Episodic Employment: Reduces migration-driven spikes and post-crisis employment volatility.
    2. Weak Enforceability: Strengthens legal backing of unemployment allowance.
    3. Leakages: Addresses duplication, ghost entries, and fake job cards through digital governance systems.
    4. Crisis Resilience: Incorporates flexibility to respond to disruptions such as COVID-19.

    Contextual Flexibility within Cooperative Federalism

    1. Advance Notification: Empowers states to notify employment periods aggregating up to 60 days aligned with agricultural lean seasons.
    2. Local Customisation: Allows differentiated notification at district, block, or gram panchayat level based on agro-climatic conditions.
    3. Disaster Response: Permits temporary expansion of permissible works and employment during natural disasters.

    Lessons from the previous Governance and Fiscal Failures

    1. Wage Stagnation: Caps wages at ₹100 per day from 2009 despite inflation, undermining real income security.
    2. Allocation Cuts: Reduces allocations from ₹40,000 crore (2010-11) to ₹33,000 crore (2012-13) amid rising demand.
    3. Employment Decline: Falls from 7.55 crore workers (2010-11) to 6.93 crore (2013).
    4. CAG Findings (2013): Highlights 4.33 lakh fake job cards, unpaid wages, delayed payments, and misuse of funds across states.

    Conclusion

    The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 represents a calibrated structural renewal of India’s rural employment guarantee framework rather than a retreat from welfare commitments. By expanding legal entitlements, correcting fiscal and governance distortions, institutionalising decentralised planning, and improving delivery outcomes, the Act addresses the core weaknesses revealed through years of implementation experience. In doing so, it reinforces the employment guarantee as a legally enforceable instrument of inclusive growth, rural stability, and cooperative federalism, aligned with both constitutional intent and evolving development priorities.

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  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) Breakthrough

    The upskilling gap: why women risk being left behind by AI

    Explained | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Introduction

    As India moves toward an AI-intensive economic model, access to time for learning and self-development has become a decisive factor in labour market outcomes. Time Use Survey (2019) data reveals that working women in India spend 10 hours less per week on self-development than men, primarily due to disproportionate unpaid care responsibilities. This time deficit risks excluding women from AI-enabled productivity gains, reinforcing occupational segregation and low-wage employment.

    Why in the News?

    The article highlights a first-order structural risk: while AI adoption accelerates, women’s ability to upskill is constrained by time poverty rather than lack of intent or capability. This marks a departure from earlier debates that focused on access to education or labour participation. The scale of the issue is substantial, women work longer total hours per day than men (9.6 vs 8.6 hours) when paid and unpaid work are combined. Yet, women lose out on rest, leisure, and learning time. This creates a persistent disadvantage in an economy increasingly driven by algorithmic efficiency and skill intensity.

    What does India’s Time Use Data reveal about gendered work patterns?

    1. Combined Workload: Working women spend 9.6 hours/day on paid and unpaid work compared to 8.6 hours/day for men.
    2. Unpaid Care Work: Women undertake nearly double the unpaid work of men, especially in childcare, eldercare, cooking, and cleaning.
    3. Age-Specific Burden: The gender gap peaks in the 30-39 age group, coinciding with prime career years and child-rearing responsibilities.

    Why does unpaid work translate into an upskilling disadvantage?

    1. Time Deficit: Women spend 10 fewer hours per week on self-development activities than men.
    2. Opportunity Cost: Reduced time for skill acquisition limits transition to high-value, AI-complementary roles.
    3. Cumulative Effect: Persistent time poverty compounds across years, reinforcing occupational stagnation.

    How does AI intensify existing labour market inequalities for women?

    1. Algorithmic Bias: AI performance metrics penalise career breaks and irregular work histories.
    2. Occupational Traps: Women are overrepresented in low-paid, automation-prone jobs and unpaid family work.
    3. Invisible Labour: Care work remains uncaptured by productivity metrics, excluding women from AI-led recognition systems.

    Why are women more vulnerable to exclusion from AI-led productivity gains?

    1. Skill Transition Barriers: AI rewards continuous learning, which women lack time to pursue.
    2. Sectoral Segregation: Women’s concentration in informal and care-intensive sectors limits AI exposure.
    3. Labour Force Exit: Over 40% of women outside the labour force cite household responsibilities as the primary reason.

    Why is this a macroeconomic and governance challenge, not just a gender issue?

    1. Productivity Loss: Underutilisation of women’s human capital reduces aggregate growth.
    2. Demographic Dividend Risk: Exclusion of women weakens India’s long-term workforce potential.
    3. Inclusive Growth Failure: AI-led growth without gender equity risks widening income and skill inequalities.

    Policy Implications 

    1. Workplace Redesign
      1. Time Recognition: Integrates unpaid care work into productivity assessments.
      2. Flexibility: Supports hybrid work models aligned with care responsibilities.
    2. Infrastructure Support
      1. Care Services: Expands childcare, eldercare, and safe public transport.
      2. Utilities Access: Reduces time spent on water, fuel, and energy collection.
    3. Skill Policy Reorientation
      1. Time-Saving Learning Models: Encourages modular, flexible, and remote upskilling formats.
      2. Targeted AI Skilling: Prioritises women-centric AI and digital training initiatives.
    4. Budgetary Prioritisation
      1. Gender Budgeting: Aligns public expenditure with time-saving social infrastructure.
      2. Outcome Metrics: Tracks women’s skill mobility and wage progression.

    Conclusion:

    An AI-driven growth strategy that overlooks women’s time poverty and unpaid care work risks deepening structural inequalities and weakening India’s human capital base. Integrating care responsibilities into economic planning, skill policy, and public expenditure is essential to ensure that technological progress translates into inclusive, equitable, and sustainable development.

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2023] Distinguish between ‘care economy’ and ‘monetized economy’. How can care economy be brought into monetized economy through women empowerment?

    Linkage: The question addresses structural issues of inclusive growth, gender inequality, and human capital formation, which are recurring themes in GS-III (Economy) and GS-I (Society).

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