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Name : Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2016

Act/ Ammendment? : New Act

Year : 2016

Objectives/need for amendment : To raise maternity leave for working women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for two surviving children.

Key features of the bill : The Bill seeks to amend the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 which protects the employment of women during the time of her maternity and entitles her of a ‘maternity benefit’ Maternity leave: Increased to 26 weeks for the working women for the first two children. Woman with two or more children will be entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave. Woman who adopts a child below the age of three months and also commissioning mothers are entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave. In this case, commissioning mother is defined as biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo planted in any other woman. Crèche facilities: Every establishment with more than 50 employees must provide for crèche facilities for working mothers. Such mothers will be permitted to make four visits during working hours to look after and feed the child in the crèche. Work from home: Employer may permit a woman to work from home, if the nature of work assigned permits her to do so. This must be mutually agreed upon by the woman and employer. Information about benefits: Establishment must inform a working woman of all benefits available under this law at the time of her appointment. Such information must be given in electronically or writing. Applicability: The provisions of this law will apply to every establishment employing ten or more persons and include mines and factories. No employer can remove any woman employee on ground of pregnancy.

Millennium Development Goals and India

In 2000, 189 nations made a promise to free people from extreme poverty and multiple deprivations. This pledge became the eight Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015. In September 2010, the world recommitted itself to accelerate progress towards these goals.

The MDGs consists of eight goals, and these eight goals address myriad development issues. The eight (8) Goals are as under:

Eighteen (18) targets were set as quantitative benchmarks for attaining the goals. The United Nations Development Group (UNDG) in 2003 provided a framework of 53 indicators (48 basic + 5 alternative) which are categorized according to targets, for measuring the progress towards individual targets.

A revised indicator-framework drawn up by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group (IAEG) on MDGs came into effect in 2008. This framework had 8 Goals, 21 targets and 60 indicators. India has not endorsed this revised framework.

MDG and India Progress

MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

Target: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day.

India’s Progress:

• The all India Poverty Head Count Ratio (PHCR) estimate was 47.8% in 1990. In order to meet the target, the PHCR level has to be 23.9% by 2015. In 2011-12, the PHCR at all India level is 21.9%, which shows that, India has already achieved the target well ahead of time.
• During 2004-05 to 2011-12, the Poverty Gap Ratio reduced both in rural and urban areas. While the rural PGR declined from 9.64 in 2004-05 to 5.05 in 2011-12 in the urban areas it declined from 6.08 to 2.70 during the same period.

Target: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.

India’s Progress:

• It is estimated that in 1990, the proportion of underweight children below 3 years as 52%. In order to meet the target, the proportion of under-weight children should decrease to 26% by 2015.
• The National Family Health Survey shows that, the proportion of under-weight children below 3 years declined from 43% in 1998-99 to 40% in 2005-06. At this rate of decline the proportion of underweight children below 3 years is expected to reduce to 33% by 2015, which indicates India is falling short of the target.

MDG 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

Target: Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary education.

India’s Progress:

• The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) in primary education (age 6-10 years) was estimated at 84.5 per cent in 2005-06 (U-DISE) and the NER has increased to 88.08 per cent in 2013-14 (U-DISE), and is unlikely to meet the target of universal achievement.
• The youth (15-24 years) literacy rate has increased from 61.9% to 86.14 per cent during the period 1991-2011 and the trend shows India is likely to reach 93.38% which is very near to the target of 100% youth literacy by 2015. At national level, the male and female youth literacy rate is likely to be at 94.81% and 92.47%.

MDG 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

Target: Eliminate gender disparity in primary, secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education, no later than 2015.

India’s Progress:

• At present, in primary education the enrolment is favourable to females as Gender Parity Index (GPI) of Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is 1.03 in 2013-14.
• In Secondary education also gender parity has achieved GPI of GER is 1 in 2013-14 and in tertiary level of education, the GPI of GER is 0.89 in 2012-13. 9
• As per Census 2011, the ratio of female youth literacy rate to male youth literacy rate is 0.91 at all India level and is likely to reach the level of 1 by 2015.
• As in January 2015, India, the world’s largest democracy, has only 65 women representatives out of 542 members in Lok Sabha, while there are 31 female representatives in the 242-member Rajya Sabha and hence presently the proportion of seats in National Parliament held by women is only 12.24% against the target of 50%.

MDG 4: Reduce Child Mortality

Target: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five Mortality Rate.

India’s Progress:

• Under Five Mortality Ratio (U5MR) was estimated at 125 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990. In order to achieve the target, the U5MR is to be reduced to 42 deaths per 1000 live births by 2015. As per Sample Registration System 2013, the U5MR is at 49 deaths per 1000 live births and as per the historical trend, it is likely to reach 48 deaths per 1000 live births, missing the target narrowly. However, an overall reduction of nearly 60% happened during 1990 to 2013, registering a faster decline in the recent past, and if this rate of reduction is sustained, the achievement by 2015 is likely to be very close to the target by 2015.
• In India, Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) was estimated at 80 per 1,000 live births in 1990. As per SRS 2013, the IMR is at 40 and as per the historical trend; it is likely to reach 39 by 2015, against the target of 27 infant deaths per 1000 live births by 2015. However, with the sharp decline in the recent years, the gap between the likely achievement and the target is expected to be narrowed.
• The Coverage Evaluation Survey estimates the proportion of one year old children immunised against measles at 74% in 2009. Although, there is substantial improvement in the coverage which was 42% in 1992-93, yet at this rate of improvement, India is likely to achieve about 89% coverage by 2015 and thus India is likely to fall short of universal coverage.

MDG 5: Improved Mental Health

Target: Reduce by three quarters between 1990 and 2015, the Maternal Morality Ratio.

India’s Progress:

• In 1990, the estimated MMR was 437 per 1,00,000 live births. In order to meet the MDG target, the MMR should be reduced to 109 per 1,00,000 live births by 2015. As per the latest estimates, the MMR status at all India level is at 167 in 2011-13. As per the historical trend, MMR is likely to reach the level of 140 maternal deaths by 2015, however, assuming the recent sharper decline is sustained, India is likely to be slightly nearer to the MDG target.

MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases.

Target: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.

India’s Progress:

• The prevalence of HIV among Pregnant women aged 15-24 years is showing a declining trend 8 from 0.89 % in 2005 to 0.32% in 2012-13.
• According to NFHS –III in 2005-06, Condom use rate of the contraceptive prevalence rate (Condom use to overall contraceptive use among currently married women, 15-49 years, was only 5.2 % at all India level.
• According to Behavioural Surveillance Survey (BSS), the national estimate for proportion of population aged 15-24 years with comprehensive correct Knowledge of HIV/AIDS (%) in 2006 was 32.9% reporting betterment from 2001 (22.2%).

Target: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of Malaria and other major diseases.

India’s Progress:

• The Annual Parasite Incidence (API) rate – Malaria has consistently come down from 2.12 per thousand in 2001 to 0.72 per thousand in 2013, but slightly increased to 0.88 in 2014 (P) but confirmed deaths due to malaria in 2013 was 440 and in 2014 (P), 578 malaria deaths have been registered.
• In India, Tuberculosis prevalence per lakh population has reduced from 465 in year 1990 to 211 in 2013. TB Incidence per lakh population has reduced from 216 in year 1990 to 171 in 2013. Tuberculosis mortality per lakh population has reduced from 38 in year 1990 to 19 in 2013.

MDG 7: Ensure Environment Sustainability.

Target: Integrate the principle of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources.

India’s Progress:

• As per assessment in 2013, the total forest cover of the country is 697898 sq.km which is 21.23% of the geographic area of the country.
• During 2011-2013, there is an increase of 5871 sq. km in forest cover.
• The network of Protected Areas comprising 89 National Parks and 489 Sanctuaries giving a combined coverage of 155475.63 km² in 2000, has grown steadily over the years. As of 2014, there are 692 Protected Areas (103 National Parks, 525 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 4 Community Reserves and 60 Conservation reserves, covering 158645.05 km2 or 5.07% of the country’s geographical area.
• Per-capita Energy Consumption (PEC) (the ratio of the estimate of total energy consumption during the year to the estimated mid-year population of that year) increased from 6205.25 KWh in 2011-12 to 6748.61 KWh in 2012-13, thus, the percentage annual increase of 8.76%.
• In 2010, consumption of CFC is estimated at 290.733 ODP tonnes (ODP –Ozone Depletion Potential), down from 5614 ODP tones in 2000. From the year 2000, the CFC consumption decreased steadily till 2008, but showed minor increase in 2010.
• As per Census 2011, 67.3% households are using solid fuels (fire wood / crop residue/cow dung cake/ coke, etc) for cooking against 74.3% in 2001. Census 2011, further reveals that, in Rural areas 86.5% households and in Urban areas 26.1% households are using solid fuels for cooking.

TARGET: Halve, by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation

India’s Progress:

• During 2012, at all India level, 87.8% households had access to improved source of drinking water while 86.9% households in rural and 90.1% households in urban area had access to improved source of drinking water.
• The target of halving the proportion of households without access to safe drinking water sources from its 1990 level to be reached by 2015, has already been achieved in rural areas and is likely to be achieved in urban areas. At all India level also, the target for access to improved source of drinking water has already been achieved.

TARGET: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

India’s Progress:

• Census 2011 reported that 17.2% of urban households are located in slums.
• The percentage of slum households to urban households (slum reported towns) is 22.17%. Census recorded a 37.14% decadal growth in the number of slum households.
• Census further reveals that in 2011, 17.37% of the urban population lives in slums. The Percentage of population in slum households to urban households (slum reported towns) is 22.44%.

MDG 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Target: In co-operation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communication.

India’s Progress

• The overall tele-density in the country has shown tremendous progress and is at 76% as on 31st July 2014.
• The internet subscribers per 100 population accessing internet through wireline and wireless connections has increased from 16.15 in June 2013 to 20.83 in June 2014.

India’s Progress in a Nutshell

Here are 2 Back2Basics collections from today’s news items

B2B #1: From news- ‘Digital transformation to add $154 billion to India’s GDP’

Internet of Things (IoT)

1. IoT is the network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and connectivity which enables these objects to connect and exchange data
2. Each thing is uniquely identifiable through its embedded computing system but is able to inter-operate within the existing Internet infrastructure
3. The IoT allows objects to be sensed or controlled remotely across existing network infrastructure
4. When IoT is augmented with sensors and actuators, the technology becomes an instance of the more general class of cyber-physical systems, which also encompasses technologies such as smart grids, virtual power plants, smart homes, intelligent transportation and smart cities

B2B #2: From News- Sebi amends norms for REITs, InvITs to make them more attractive

Real estate investment trusts (REITs)

1. Real Estate Investment Trusts or REITs are mutual funds like institutions that enable investments in the real estate sector
2. This is done by pooling small sums of money from a multitude of individual investors for directly investing in real estate properties so as to return a portion of the income (after deducting expenditures) to unitholders of REITs, who pooled in the money
3. A REIT in India is allowed to invest mainly in completed and revenue generating assets and other approved investments
4. REIT will have to distribute the majority of its income among the unit holders
5. REITs are set up as a trust under the provisions of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882
6. Like a mutual fund, it has three parties – Trustee, Sponsor(s) and Manager – to avoid any conflict of interest issues
7. REITs are regulated by the securities market regulator in India- Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

Name : International Court of Justice

Recently in News because : Justice Dalveer Bhandari was re-elected as a judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ),making him the third Indian to secure a prominent position in a United Nations (UN) body in recent months

Objective : Settle legal disputes submitted to it by states, duly authorized international branches, agencies, and the UN General Assembly

Members : The International Court of Justice is composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council

Headquarters : The Hague, The Netherlands

Year Founded : Established in 1945

The geological structure of a country helps in understanding the types and character of rocks and slopes, the physical and chemical properties of soils, the availability of minerals, and the surface and underground water resources. But before we can study the geological structure of India, it is important that we understand what a geological time scale means:

The Geological Timescale

When did the dinosaurs get extinct? When did the birds first appear on earth? What about the beginning of life itself?

To answer these questions, geologists use a special timeline called the Geological Time Scale. It is a record of Earth’s Geologic history based on radiometric dating and the record of ancient life preserved in layers of rocks.

The geological timescale is broken up into larger and smaller subdivisions which help us understand how the various historical events fit together. These time intervals are not equal in length like the hours in a day. Instead, the time intervals are variable in length because geologic time is divided using significant events in the history of the Earth. The various intervals are:

Let’s watch a video to understand this division better:

The geological timescale thus looks like:

Note: Due to lack of sufficient information about the Precambrian Eon, there is no subdivision into eras etc. At the same time, it is important to note that the Precambrian time constitutes about 86.7% of Earth’s history.

The Indian Geological History:

Major events in the geological history of India:

• Peninsular India was a part of the old landmass since the formation of the Earth’s Crust
• The upheaval of Himalayas in the tertiary period.
• Aggradational formation of the Indo-Gangetic plain during the Pleistocene period. It continues till today through sedimentation in the floodplains of the rivers and the lower part of the Gangetic plain.

Based on this complex and varied geological history, the Geological Survey of India has classified rock systems of the country into 4 major divisions:

Let us study the basic features of each of these:

1. The Archaean rock system (Early Pre-Cambrian)

The Archaean group of rocks consists of two systems-(a) Achaean granites and gneisses, and (b) Dharwarian sedimentary:

• Archaean Gneisses and Schists (pre 2500 million years)
  • The Archean System contains the first formed rocks of the earth.
  • The rocks are primarily gneisses and granites, having no marks of fossils.
  • They often underlie the strata formed subsequently and the system is generally known as the basement complex or fundamental gneisses.
  • The Archaean rocks cover two-thirds of the peninsular India. They also occur in roots of the mountain peaks all along the Greater Himalayas, trans-Himalayan ranges of Zaskar, Ladakh and Karakoram.
• Dharwar System (2500-1800 million years ago)
  • The weathering of the Archaean rocks yielded the earliest sediments and formed the oldest sedimentary strata, the Dharwar system.
  • These are found today in metamorphic forms and do not contain fossils.
  • These rocks occur in scattered patches in parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, central and eastern parts of Chotanagpur plateau, Meghalaya plateau, Aravalis, Himalayan region etc as shown on the map.

The Archaean rocks are economically the most important rocks because they possess valuable minerals like high-grade iron ore, manganese, copper, lead, gold, quartzite, slates, mica, etc.

1. The Purana Rock System (Late Pre-cambrian):

The Archaean gneiss and the Dharwar rocks underwent further erosion leading to the formation of the Purana Rock system.

The Purana rock system is further subdivided into (i) the Cuddapah and (ii) the Vindhyan

• The Cuddapah
  • These rocks are generally without fossils
  • These formations, named after the Cuddapah district in Andhra Pradesh are sedimentary metamorphic formations.
  • These are found in Andhra Pradesh, southern Chhattisgarh, Odisha and along the main axis of Aravallis.
  • The metallic content in ores of Cuddapah rocks is low and at places uneconomical for extraction.
• The Vindhyan
  • This system derives its name from the Vindhyan mountains
  • Consists of enormous sedimentary deposits. In some tracts, Vindhyan rocks are buried under the Deccan lava.
  • It stretches from Sasaram in Bihar to Chittorgarh in Rajasthan with the exception of the central tract of Bundelkhand gneiss.
  • The well-known diamond mines of Panna and Golconda lie in the Vindhayan region.
  • This rock system is well known for red sandstone, sandstone, durable stones, ornamental stones, raw materials for lime, glass, cement and chemical industries.

2. The Dravidian Rock system (Cambrian to middle carboniferous)

• These formations do not occur in the peninsular plateau as it was above the sea level at that time but are found in continuous sequence in the Himalayas.
• They contain abundant fossils in them
• Coal formation started in the Carboniferous age. Carboniferous in geology means coal-bearing. [Most of the coal found in India is not of the Carboniferous period; High-quality coal of Great Lakes Region-USA, U.K and Ruhr region is Carboniferous coal].

3. The Aryan Rock system (Upper Carboniferous to recent)

• The Gondwana System:
  • The peninsula during the Upper Carboniferous period experienced crustal movements, which led to the formation of basin-shaped depressions. These depressions had countless terrestrial plants and animals, which were buried to from coal deposits in India known as the Gondwana Rocks.
  • These rocks have also marks of climatic changes from arctic cold to tropical and desert conditions.
  • These Rocks are found mainly in the Damodar, the Mahanadi and the Godavari valleys of the peninsula.
  • Gondwana rocks contain nearly 98 percent of India’s coal reserves. Gondwana coal is much younger than the Carboniferous coal and hence its carbon content is low.
• Jurassic System:
  • The marine transgression in the latter part of the Jurassic gave rise to thick series of shallow water deposits in Rajasthan and in Kuchchh.
  • Coral limestone, sandstone, conglomerates and shales occur in Kuchchh.
  • Another transgression on the east coast of the Peninsula is found between Guntur and Rajahmundry.
• The Deccan Trap:
  • Towards the end of the Mesozoic era, intensive volcanic activity took place, which flooded with lava vast areas of Maharashtra and other parts of the Deccan known as the Deccan traps.
  • The volcanic rocks contain some thin fossiliferous sedimentary layers found between the lava flows. This indicates that the lava flows was not continuous. The volcanic activity led to two great events
    1. Breakup of the Gondwanaland masses
    2. Uplift of the Himalayas out of the Tethys Sea.
  • Present Deccan Trap covers about 5 lakh sq km mainly in parts of Kuchchh, Saurashtra, Maharashtra, the Malwa plateau and northern Karnataka.
  • The weathering of these rocks for a long time has given birth to black cotton soil known as ‘regur’.
• Tertiary System
  • Eocene to Pliocene about 60 to 7 million years ago.
  • The tertiary is the most significant period in India’s geological history because the Himalayas were born and India’s present form came into being in this period.
• The Pleistocene and recent formations (The quaternary period)
  • Quaternary is the name proposed for very recent deposits, which contains fossils of species with living representatives
  • These include Satluj-Ganga-Brahmaputra plains and Karewa formations of the Kashmir valley.

Geological Divisions of India:

Geologic divisions are marked by geologists as regions of similar rocks, structures and geologic history [Recall the brief geological history of India discussed above]. Geologically, India is divided into 3 major regions (also called the Triple Tectonic division):

1. The Peninsular Plateau region – It also includes the Shillong Plateau and the Kutchch Kathiawar region (Outliers)
2. The Extra-peninsular region – the mountainous region of Himalayas.

• The Himalayas are young, weak and flexible in their geological structure, unlike the rigid and stable Peninsular Block.
• Consequently, they are still subjected to the interplay of exogenic and endogenic forces, resulting in the development of faults, folds and thrust plains.
• These mountains are tectonic in origin, dissected by fast-flowing rivers which are in their youthful stage.
• Various landforms like gorges, V-shaped valleys, rapids, waterfalls, etc. are indicative of this stage.

3. The Indo-Gangetic Plain between the above two.

In addition to these, there are 2 minor divisions:

1. The Coastal Plains (Eastern and western)
2. The Islands (Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar)

Physiographic divisions of India

Physiography deals with the study of surface features. This includes the landforms (mountains and valleys, their shape and steepness), the way rivers flow across the land, and the way in which the land erodes. Geographers recognize physiographic divisions based on the shape of the land.

There is a close relationship between India’s physiographic and geologic divisions as geology affects the way the land erodes.

The Indian landmass can be divided into the following broad physiographic units:

1. The Northern and Northeastern Mountains
2. The Northern plains
3. The Thar Desert
4. The Peninsular Plateau
5. The Coastal Plains
6. The Islands

In the next articles, we will study each of these divisions in detail. [For the next article on the Himalayan mountains, click here]

But before we proceed to the next article, let’s look at the following question from a past UPSC examination:

Prelims:

1997:

Question: Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:

List I List II

A) Deccan Traps 1) Late cenozoic

B) Western Ghats 2) Pre-cambrian

C) Aravalli 3) Cretaceous Eocene

D) Narmada-Tapi alluvial deposits 4) Cambrian

5) Pleistocene

a) A-3 B-5 C-1 D-4

b) A-3 B-1 C-2 D-5

c) A-2 B-1 C-3 D-4

d) A-1 B-4 C-2 D-5

Ans. b

Here are 3 Back2Basics collections from today’s news items

B2B #1: From news- India-EU meeting in May to counter online radicalisation

European Union (EU)

1. The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe
2. The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship
3. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardized system of laws that apply in all member states
4. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development
5. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished
6. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), established, respectively, by the 1951 Treaty of Paris and 1957 Treaty of Rome

B2B #2: From News- Google appeals against Competition Commission of India’s ‘search bias’ verdict
National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)

1. National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) was constituted under Section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013 for hearing appeals against the orders of National Company Law Tribunal(s) (NCLT), with effect from 1st June 2016
2. NCLAT is also the Appellate Tribunal for hearing appeals against the orders passed by Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India under Section 202 and Section 211 of IBC
3. NCLAT is also the Appellate Tribunal to hear and dispose of appeals against any direction issued or decision made or order passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI)
4. The President of the Tribunal and the chairperson and Judicial Members of the Appellate Tribunal shall be appointed after consultation with the Chief Justice of India

The Members of the Tribunal and the Technical Members of the Appellate Tribunal shall be appointed on the recommendation of a Selection Committee consisting of—

(a) Chief Justice of India or his nominee—Chairperson;

(b) a senior Judge of the Supreme Court or a Chief Justice of High Court— Member;

(c) Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs—Member;
(d) Secretary in the Ministry of Law and Justice—Member; and

(e) Secretary in the Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance— Member

B2B #3: From News- Scientists study ways to dim sunshine, slow global warming

Solar geoengineering

1. Solar radiation management (SRM or solar geoengineering) is a theoretical approach to reducing some of the impacts of climate change by reflecting a small amount of inbound sunlight back out into space
2. It is in the early stages of research
3. SRM would not directly reduce concentrations greenhouse gases
4. Different SRM techniques have been proposed such as- Stratospheric aerosol injection, Marine cloud brightening
5. Stratospheric aerosols might delay the regeneration of the ozone layer