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Subject: Governance

Important aspects of Society

  • PM Poshan Shakti Nirman Scheme

    The existing Mid-Day Meal scheme, which provides hot meals to students, has been renamed as the National Scheme for PM Poshan Shakti Nirman.

    Key propositions in the PM POSHAN Scheme

    • Supplementary nutrition: The new scheme has a provision for supplementary nutrition for children in aspirational districts and those with high prevalence of anaemia.
    • States to decide diet: It essentially does away with the restriction on the part of the Centre to provide funds only for wheat, rice, pulses and vegetables. Currently, if a state decides to add any component like milk or eggs to the menu, the Centre does not bear the additional cost. Now that restriction has been lifted.
    • Nutri-gardens: They will be developed in schools to give children “firsthand experience with nature and gardening”.
    • Women and FPOs: To promote vocal for local, women self-help groups and farmer producer organisations will be encouraged to provide a fillip to locally grown traditional food items.
    • Social Audit: The scheme also plans “inspection” by students of colleges and universities for ground-level execution.
    • Tithi-Bhojan: Communities would also be encouraged to provide the children food at festivals etc, while cooking festivals to encourage local cuisines are also envisaged.
    • DBTs to school: In other procedural changes meant to promote transparency and reduce leakages, States will be asked to do direct benefit cash transfers of cooking costs to individual school accounts, and honorarium amounts to the bank accounts of cooks and helpers.
    • Holistic nutrition: The rebranded scheme aims to focus on “holistic nutrition” goals. Use of locally grown traditional foods will be encouraged, along with school nutrition gardens.

    About the Mid-Day Meal Scheme

    • The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal program designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide.
    • It was launched in the year 1995.
    • It supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in:
    1. Government, government aided, local body schools
    2. Education Guarantee Scheme, and alternate innovative education centres,
    3. Madarsa and Maqtabs supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and
    4. National Child Labour Project schools run by the ministry of labour
    • The Scheme has a legal backing under the National Food Security Act, 2013.

    Objective:

    To enhance the enrolment, retention and attendance and simultaneously improve nutritional levels among school going children studying in Classes I to VIII

    History of the scheme

    • In 1925, a Mid Day Meal Programme was introduced for disadvantaged children in Madras Municipal Corporation.
    • By the mid-1980s three States viz. Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the UT of Pondicherry had universalized a same scheme with their own resources for children studying at the primary stage.
    • In 2001, the Supreme Court asked all state governments to begin this programme in their schools within 6 months.

    Calorie approach

    • Primary (1-5) and upper primary (6-8) schoolchildren are currently entitled to 100 grams and 150 grams of food grains per working day each.
    • The calorific value of a mid-day meal at various stages has been fixed at a minimum:
    Calories Intake Primary Upper Primary
    Energy 450 calories 700 calories
    Protein 12 grams 20 grams

     

    Impact created by the Scheme

    • The MDM Scheme has many potential benefits: attracting children from disadvantaged sections (especially girls, Dalits and Adivasis) to school, improving regularity, nutritional benefits, socialisation benefits and benefits to women are some that have been highlighted.
    • Apart from nutrition, this scheme has been miraculous. Mothers who first used to interrupt their work to feed their children at home, now no longer need to do so.

    Issues with the Scheme

    • Discrimination: Caste-based discrimination continues to occur in the serving of food, though the government seems unwilling to acknowledge this.
    • Leakages: The scheme has been subjected to leakages similar to the Public Distribution System.
    • Unhealthy and unhygienic: There have been cases of eating pesticide-contaminated mid-day meals leading to food poisoning.

     

    Try this PYQ:

    Which of the following can be said to be essentially the parts of Inclusive Governance?

    1. Permitting the Non-Banking Financial Companies to do banking
    2. Establishing effective District Planning Committees in all the districts
    3. Increasing government spending on public health
    4. Strengthening the Mid-day Meal Scheme

    Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 3 and 4 only

    (c) 2, 3 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

     

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  • Antimalarial drug resistance in India

    In recent years there is increasing evidence for the failure of artemisinin-based combination therapy for falciparum malaria either alone or with partner drugs.

    What is Malaria?

    • Malaria is caused by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito if the mosquito itself is infected with a malarial parasite.
    • There are five kinds of malarial parasites — Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax (the commonest ones), Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium knowlesi.
    • Therefore, to say that someone has contracted the Plasmodium ovale type of malaria means that the person has been infected by that particular parasite.

    Burden of Malaria in India

    • In 2018, the National Vector-borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) estimated that approximately 5 lakh people suffered from malaria.
    • 63% of the cases were of Plasmodium falciparum.
    • The recent World Malaria Report 2020 said cases in India dropped from about 20 million in 2000 to about 5.6 million in 2019.

    Treatment of Malaria

    • Malaria is treated with prescription drugs to kill the parasite. Chloroquine is the preferred treatment for any parasite that is sensitive to the drug.
    • In most malaria-endemic countries including India, Artemisinin-based antimalarial drugs are the first-line choice for malaria treatment.
    • This is especially against Plasmodium falciparum parasite which is responsible for almost all malaria-related deaths in the world.

    Why in news now?

    • There are reports of artemisinin resistance in East Africa and is a matter of great concern as this is the only drug that has saved several lives across the globe.
    • In India, after the failure of chloroquine to treat P. falciparum malaria successfully, artemisinin-based combination therapy was initially introduced in 2008.
    • Currently, several combinations of artemisinin derivatives are registered in India.

    Artemisinin-based combination therapy failure in India

    • In 2019, a report from Eastern India indicated the presence of two mutations in P. falciparum cases treated with artemisinin that linked to its presence of resistance.
    • Again in 2021, artemisinin-based combination therapy failure was reported from Central India where the partner drug SP showed triple mutations with artemisinin wild type.
    • This means the failure of artemisinin-based combination therapy may not be solely linked to artemisinin. Here it is needed to change the partner drug as has been done in NE states in 2013.

    History of drug resistance

    • In the 1950s chloroquine resistance came to light.
    • Both chloroquine and pyrimethamine resistance originated from Southeast Asia following their migration to India and then on to Africa with disastrous consequences.
    • Similarly, artemisinin resistance developed from the six Southeast Asian countries and migrated to other continents, as is reported in India and Africa.
    • It would not be out of context that artemisinin is following the same path as has been seen with chloroquine.
    • Now, the time has come to carry out Molecular Malaria Surveillance to find out the drug-resistant variants so that corrective measures can be undertaken in time to avert any consequences.
    • Some experts even advocate using triple artemisinin-based combination therapies where the partner drug is less effective.

    Try this PYQ:

    Widespread resistance of malarial parasite to drugs like chloroquine has prompted attempts to develop a malarial vaccine to combat malaria.

    Why is it difficult to develop an effective malaria vaccine?

    (a) Malaria is caused by several species of Plasmodium

    (b) Man does not develop immunity to malaria during natural infection

    (c) Vaccines can be developed only against bacteria

    (d) Man is only an intermediate host and not the definitive host

     

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  • Explained: Digital Health ID

    The PM has recently launched the flagship Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) which involves the creation not just a unique digital health ID for every citizen.

    Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

    What is the unique health ID?

    • If a person wants to be part of the ABDM, she must create a health ID, which is a randomly generated 14-digit number.
    • The ID will be broadly used for three purposes: unique identification, authentication, and threading of the beneficiary’s health records, only with their informed consent, across multiple systems and stakeholders.

    Why is this initiative significant?

    • The initiative has the potential to “increase the ease of living” along with “simplifying the procedures in hospitals”.
    • At present, the use of digital health ID in hospitals is currently limited to only one hospital or to a single group, and mostly concentrated in large private chains.
    • The new initiative will bring the entire ecosystem on a single platform.
    • The system also makes it easier to find doctors and specialists nearest to you.
    • Currently, many patients rely on recommendations from family and friends for medical consultation, but now the new platform will tell the patient who to reach out to, and who is the nearest.
    • Also, labs and drug stores will be easily identified for better tests using the new platform.

    How can one get it?

    • One can get a health ID by self-registration on the portal or by downloading the ABMD Health Records app on one’s mobile.
    • Additionally, one can also request the creation of a health ID at a participating health facility.
    • Health facilities may include government or private hospitals, community health centres, and wellness centres of the government across India.
    • The beneficiary will also have to set up a Personal Health Records (PHR) address for consent management, and for future sharing of health records.

    What is a PHR address?

    • It is a simple self-declared username, which the beneficiary is required to sign into a Health Information Exchange and Consent Manager (HIE-CM).
    • Each health ID will require linkage to a consent manager to enable sharing of health records data.
    • An HIE-CM is an application that enables sharing and linking of personal health records for a user.
    • At present, one can use the health ID to sign up on the HIE-CM; the National Health Authority (NHA), however, says multiple consent managers are likely to be available for patients to choose from in the near future.

    What does one need to register for a health ID?

    • Currently, ABDM supports health ID creation via mobile or Aadhaar.
    • The official website states that ABDM will soon roll out features that will support health ID creation with a PAN card or a driving licence.
    • For health ID creation through mobile or Aadhaar, the beneficiary will be asked to share details on name, year of birth, gender, address, mobile number/Aadhaar.

    Is Aadhaar mandatory?

    Ans. No, it is voluntary.

    • One can use one’s mobile number for registration, without Aadhaar.
    • If the beneficiary chooses the option of using her Aadhaar number, an OTP will be sent to the mobile number linked to the Aadhaar.
    • However, if she has not linked it to her mobile, the beneficiary has to visit the nearest facility and opt for biometric authentication using Aadhaar number.
    • After successful authentication, she will get her health ID at the participating facility.

    Are personal health records secure?

    • The NHA says ABDM does not store any of the beneficiary health records.
    • The records are stored with healthcare information providers as per their “retention policies”.
    • They are “shared” over the ABDM network “with encryption mechanisms” only after the beneficiary express consent.

    Can one delete my health ID and exit the platform?

    Ans. Yes, the NHA says ABDM, supports such a feature.  Two options are available: a user can permanently delete or temporarily deactivate her health ID.

    • On deletion, the unique health ID will be permanently deleted, along with all demographic details.
    • The beneficiary will not be able to retrieve any information tagged to that health ID in the future, and will never be able to access ABDM applications or any health records over the ABDM network with the deleted ID.
    • On deactivation, the beneficiary will lose access to all ABDM applications only for the period of deactivation.
    • Until she reactivates her health ID, she will not be able to share the ID at any health facility or share health records over the ABDM network.

    What facilities are available to beneficiaries?

    • Users can access personal digital health records right from admission through treatment and discharge.
    • One can access and link his/her personal health records with your health ID to create a longitudinal health history.

    What other features will be rolled out?

    • Upcoming new features will enable access to verified doctors across the country.
    • The beneficiary can create a health ID for her child, and digital health records right from birth.
    • Third, she can add a nominee to access her health ID and view or help manage the personal health records.
    • Also, there will be much inclusive access, with the health ID available to people who don’t have phones, using assisted methods.

    How do private players get associated with a government digital ID?

    • The NHA has launched the NDHM Sandbox: a digital architecture that allows helps private players to be part of the National Digital Health Ecosystem as health information providers or health information users.
    • The private player sends a request to NHA to test its system with the Sandbox environment.
    • The NHA then gives the private player a key to access the Sandbox environment and the health ID application programming interface (API).
    • The private player then has to create a Sandbox health ID, integrate its software with the API; and register the software to test link records and process health data consent requests.
    • Once the system is tested, the system will ask for a demo to the NHA to move forward. After a successful demo, the NHA certifies and empanels the private hospital.

    Now try this PYQ:

    Consider the following statements:

    1. Aadhaar metadata cannot be stored for more than three months.
    2. State cannot enter into any contract with private corporations for sharing of Aadhaar data.
    3. Aadhaar is mandatory for obtaining insurance products.
    4. Aadhaar is mandatory for getting benefits funded out of the Consolidated Fund of India.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 and 4 only

    (b) 2 and 4 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3 only

     

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  • Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

    The PM has launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission to provide a digital Health ID to people which will contain their health records.

    Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

    • The pilot project of the National Digital Health Mission was announced by PM Modi during his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort on August 15, 2020.
    • The mission will enable access and exchange of longitudinal health records of citizens with their consent.
    • This will ensure ease of doing business for doctors and hospitals and healthcare service providers.

    The key components of the project include

    • Health ID for every citizen that will also work as their health account, to which personal health records can be linked and viewed with the help of a mobile application,
    • Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR)
    • Healthcare Facilities Registries (HFR) that will act as a repository of all healthcare providers across both modern and traditional systems of medicine

    What makes this special?

    • The mission will create integration within the digital health ecosystem, similar to the role played by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in revolutionising payments.
    • Citizens will only be a click-away from accessing healthcare facilities.

     

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  • [pib] SAUBHAGYA Scheme completes 4 years

    The Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – SAUBHAGYA Scheme has successfully completed four years of its implementation.

    Progress till date

    • 82 crore households have been electrified since the launch of SAUBHAGYA till 31st March, 2021.

    About SAUBHAGYA Scheme

    • The Saubhagya is a scheme to ensure electrification of all willing households in the country in rural as well as urban areas.
    • It was launched in September 2017.
    • The Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) is the nodal agency for the operationalization of the scheme throughout the country.

    Objective

    • To provide energy access to all by last mile connectivity and electricity connections to all remaining un-electrified households in rural as well as urban areas
    • To achieve universal household electrification in the country

    Beneficiaries of the project

    • The beneficiaries for free electricity connections would be identified using Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data.
    • However, un-electrified households not covered under the SECC data would also be provided electricity connections under the scheme on payment of Rs. 500 which shall be recovered by DISCOMs in 10 installments through electricity bill.
    • The solar power packs of 200 to 300 Wp with battery bank for un-electrified households located in remote and inaccessible areas, comprises Five LED lights, One DC fan, One DC power plug.
    • It also includes Repair and Maintenance (R&M) for 5 years.

    Implementation process

    • For the easy and accelerated implementation of the Scheme, modern technology shall be used for household surveys by using Mobile App.
    • Beneficiaries shall be identified and their application for electricity connection along with applicant photograph and identity proof shall be registered on spot.
    • The Gram Panchayat/Public institutions in the rural areas may be authorised to collect application forms along with complete documentation, distribute bills and collect revenue in consultation with the Panchayat Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies.

    Expected outcomes of the scheme

    The expected outcome of the Scheme is as follows:

    • Environmental upgradation by substitution of Kerosene for lighting purposes
    • Improvement education services
    • Better health services
    • Enhanced connectivity through radio, television, mobiles, etc.
    • Increased economic activities and jobs
    • Improved quality of life especially for women

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  • Disease surveillance system

    Context

    A well-functioning system can reduce the impact of diseases and outbreaks.

    Importance of disease surveillance system

    • Successful tackling of cholera in 1854 in London by use of the health statistics and death registration data from the General Registrar Office (GRO) started the beginning of a new era in epidemiology.
    • Importance of data: The application of principles of epidemiology is possible through systematic collection and timely analysis, and dissemination of data on the diseases.
    • This is to initiate action to either prevent or stop further spread, a process termed as disease surveillance.
    • Subsequently, the high-income countries invested in disease surveillance systems but low- and middle-income countries used limited resources for medical care.
    • Then, in the second half of the Twentieth century, as part of the global efforts for smallpox eradication and then to tackle many emerging and re-emerging diseases, many countries recognised the importance and started to invest in and strengthen the diseases surveillance system.
    • These efforts received a further boost with the emergence of Avian flu in 1997 and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2002-04.

    Surveillance in India

    • The Government of India launched the National Surveillance Programme for Communicable Diseases in 1997.
    • However, this initiative remained rudimentary.
    • In wake of the SARS outbreak, in 2004, India launched the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP).
    • The focus under the IDSP was to increase government funding for disease surveillance, strengthen laboratory capacity, train the health workforce and have at least one trained epidemiologist in every district of India.

    Issues with surveillance: Interstate variation

    • Variation among states: The disease surveillance system and health data recording and reporting systems are key tools in epidemiology.
    • In the fourth round of serosurvey, Kerala and Maharashtra States could identify one in every six and 12 infections, respectively; while in States such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, only one in every 100 COVID-19 infections could be detected.
    • This points towards a weak disease surveillance system.
    • In a well-functioning disease surveillance system, an increase in cases of any illness would be identified very quickly.
    • While Kerala is picking the maximum COVID-19 cases; it could pick the first case of the Nipah virus in early September 2021. 
    • On the contrary, cases of dengue, malaria, leptospirosis and scrub typhus received attention only when more than three dozen deaths were reported and health facilities in multiple districts of Uttar Pradesh, began to be overwhelmed.

    Way forward

    • A review of the IDSP in 2015, conducted jointly by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Government of India and World Health Organization India had made a few concrete recommendations to strengthen disease surveillance systems.
    • These included increasing financial resource allocation, ensuring an adequate number of trained human resources, strengthening laboratories, and zoonosis, influenza and vaccine-preventable diseases surveillance.
    • Increase allocation: The government resources allocated to preventive and promotive health services and disease surveillance need to be increased by the Union and State governments.
    • Trained workforce: The workforce in the primary healthcare system in both rural and urban areas needs to be retrained in disease surveillance and public health actions.
    • The vacancies of surveillance staff at all levels need to be urgently filled in.
    • Capacity increase: The laboratory capacity for COVID-19 needs to be planned and repurposed to increase the ability to conduct testing for other public health challenges and infections.
    • The interconnectedness of human and animal health: The emerging outbreaks of zoonotic diseases, be it the Nipah virus in Kerala or avian flu in other States as well as scrub typhus in Uttar Pradesh, are a reminder of the interconnectedness of human and animal health.
    • The ‘One Health’ approach has to be promoted beyond policy discourses and made functional on the ground.
    • Strengthening registration system: There has to be a dedicated focus on strengthening the civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems and medical certification of cause of death (MCCD).
    • Coordination: It is also time to ensure coordinated actions between the State government and municipal corporation to develop joint action plans and assume responsibility for public health and disease surveillance.
    • The allocation made by the 15th Finance Commission to corporations for health should be used to activate this process.

    Consider the question “Examine the measure for disease surveillance in India? How it can help reduce the impact of the diseases?”

    Conclusion

    We cannot prevent every single outbreak but with a well-functioning disease surveillance system and with the application of principles of epidemiology, we can reduce their impact.

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  • Kasturirangan panel for National Curriculum Framework

    The Centre has started the process to revise school textbooks by appointing former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Kasturirangan as the head of a 12-member steering committee responsible for developing a new National Curriculum Framework (NCF).

    National Curriculum Framework (NCF)

    • The new NCF is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
    • The committee will be headed by K Kasturirangan, who had also led the NEP 2020 drafting committee.
    • The national curriculum framework serves as a guideline for syllabus, textbooks, teaching and learning practices in the country.
    • India is currently following its fourth national curriculum framework that was published by the NCERT in 2005.

    What was the last NCF?

    • The last such framework was developed in 2005.
    • It is meant to be a guiding document for the development of textbooks, syllabi and teaching practices in schools across the country.

    Why revamp NCF?

    • The subsequent revision of textbooks by the National Council of Educational Research and Training will draw from the new NCF.
    • In fact, the steering committee will develop four such frameworks, one each to guide the curriculum of school education, teacher education, early childhood education, and adult education.

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  • Front-of-pack labelling of Food Stuffs

    Seven years, four committees and two draft regulations later, India still does not have a clear labelling system to warn consumers about harmful levels of fat, salt and sugar in processed foods.

    Context

    • According to the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011, every pre-packed processed food product sold in the country must be labelled with nutritional information.
    • To ensure that consumers are able to easily see and interpret the nutritional information on food packets, an expert committee was established by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
    • The committee, set up following an order of the Delhi High Court which was hearing a public interest petition seeking a ban on the sale of junk food in and around schools.

    Why label nutritional information?

    • This helps the consumer know everything about the food they buy and make an informed decision about what and how much to eat.
    • Such information is particularly crucial because the packaged food contain ultra-processed foods that are high in fat, salt or sugar and low in fibre and other essential micronutrients.
    • On the one hand, these foods cause malnutrition.
    • On the other hand they are linked strongly with obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases, such as Type-2 diabetes, hypertension, heart ailments and certain cancers, like that of the colon.
    • All these increase the risk of premature death.

    Issues with labelling in India

    • Most products provide information in English understanding which can be daunting for a vast number of people in India.

    What is FoP labelling?

    • The front-of-pack (FoP) labelling system has long been listed as one of the global best practices to nudge consumers into healthy food choices.
    • It works just the way cigarette packets are labelled with images to discourage consumption.
    • Countries such as Chile, Brazil and Israel have laws to push the packaged food industry to adopt FoP labelling.
    • They have used FoP labelling as a measure to fight obesity and NCDs.

    FoP labelling in India

    • The system is yet to be implemented in India even seven years after it was first proposed by FSSAI.
    • The fact is, makers of packaged foods are also a powerful lot, with strong business acumen.
    • While companies in other countries have acceded to the FoP labelling laws, they are unwilling to do so in India — a country experiencing a dietary shift.

    Why must we have FoP labels?

    • Countries are working to find ways to nudge consumers into healthy food choices and to contain the growing crisis of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
    • It is a crisis that increasingly impacts children and also exacerbates novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) symptoms. Front-of-pack (FoP) labelling is definitely an effective tool in this effort.

    India definitely needs ‘warning labels’ on front-of-pack, but this must be a symbol-based label with no text and numbers. This is because:

    (1) Junk foods have high levels of unhealthy nutrients

    • There is strong evidence that sugar, salt and fat in junk foods are addictive, like nicotine in tobacco.
    • FoP ‘warning’ labels have helped reduce cigarette consumption. It is time we adopted the same for junk foods.

    (2) Warning labels are easy to notice and understand

    • They do not confuse consumers with mixed messages.
    • Their distinct shape, colour and size make them noticeable in the otherwise cluttered and colourful packaging.
    • With one label for one nutrient, it becomes easier to know if a product is high in more than one nutrient.

    (3) Warning labels are the global best practice now

    • At least seven countries have adopted warning labels in the past five years. These include Chile, Peru, Mexico, Israel and Uruguay.
    • Low- and middle-income mothers have shown profound changes in attitudes towards food purchases as they now understand the nutritional content of packaged foods.
    • Even children can read the labels and take an informed decision. This has also forced food companies to reduce the amount of sugar and sodium in foods and beverages.

    (4) They are best suited for India

    • Warning labels are best suited for India as they do not include numbers unlike many other FoP labels.
    • In fact, warning labels that are symbol-based, like that of Israel, can transcend the barriers of literacy and language in India.

    (5) FSSAI has experience of successfully implementing symbol-based FoP labels

    • Its “green filled circle in green outlined square” logo to depict vegetarian food has been hugely successful in informing consumers.
    • In recent years, FSSAI also has made similar laws to depict fortification (+F logo) and organic food (a green-coloured tick for Jaivik Bharat logo).

    Way forward

    • FoP labels must include information on nutrients that make food injurious to health.
    • This should be distinct from the details on the back-of-pack. FoP labels should aim to inform the consumer, while the back-of-pack label serves the purpose of scientific compliance and enforcement.
    • FoP labels should have information on ‘total sugar’ and not ‘added sugar’. There is no analytical laboratory method to differentiate ‘added sugar’ from total sugar and quantify it.

     

  • Empathy through education

    Context

    While the National Education Policy (2020) notes numeracy and literacy as its central aims, Social and Emotional Learning should be an equally important goal as it supports skills such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity.

    What is social and emotional learning (SEL)?

    • SEL is the process of learning to recognise and manage emotions and navigate social situations effectively.
    • SEL is foundational for human development, building healthy relationships, having self and social awareness, solving problems, making responsible decisions, and academic learning.
    • Neurobiologically, various brain regions such as the prefrontal and frontal cortices, amygdala, and superior temporal sulcus are involved in the cognitive mechanisms of SEL.
    • Brain systems that are responsible for basic human behaviour, such as getting hungry, may be reused for complex mechanisms involved in SEL.
    • Despite its importance to life, SEL is often added as a chapter in a larger curriculum rather than being integrated in it.
    • The pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges for SEL as school closures reduced opportunities for students to deepen social relationships and learn collaboratively in shared physical spaces.
    • Even with parental involvement, the challenge of an inadequate support system for SEL remains.

    Way forward

    • Perhaps we can contextually adapt best practices from existing models.
    • A starting point would be to consider insights from the Indian SEL framework:
    • One, the application of SEL practices should be based on students’ socioeconomic backgrounds.
    • Two, SEL strategies of caretakers and educators must align with one another.
    • Three, long-term success requires SEL to be based on scientific evidence.

    Conclusion

    As a sustainable development goal outlines, policymakers now have to ensure that future changes prioritise “inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” Importantly, the onus lies on all of us to make individual contributions that will drive systemic change.

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  • E-Shram

    The E-Shram portal has come into existence more than a decade after the passage of the Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act in 2008.

    E-Shram

    • On August 26, 2021, the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MOLE) launched the E-Shram, the web portal for creating a National Database of Unorganized Workers (NDUW), which will be seeded with Aadhaar.
    • It seeks to register an estimated 398-400 million unorganized workers and to issue an E-Shram card.

    Better late than never move

    • It has come about even after repeated nudging by the Supreme Court of India.
    • It is the result of state apathy.
    • Had the Central and the State governments begun these legally mandated processes on time, much of the distress of lakhs of vulnerable workers would have been avoided.
    • In fact, the political class owe an ‘apology’ to informal workers.

    Issues with E-Shram

    (A) Time constraints

    • Long process: Given the gigantic nature of registering each worker, it will be a long-drawn process.
    • No gestation period: The Government has not mentioned a gestation period to assess its strategy and efficiency.
    • No hasty process: Employers are or required their workers to register even.While the Government can appeal to them, any penal measure will hurt the ease of doing business.

    (B) Pandemic hides

    • Considering the estimated 380 million workers as the universe of registration — debatable as the novel coronavirus pandemic has pushed lakhs of workers into informality.

    (C) Data security

    • Privacy: One of the vital concerns of e-portals is data security, including its potential abuse especially when it is a mega-sized database.
    • No national framework yet: There are also media reports pointing out the absence of a national architecture relating to data security.
    • Local server issues: It has been reported that in some States such as Maharashtra, the server was down for a few days.

    (D) Structural issue

    • Aadhaar seeding: Many workers will not have an Aadhaar-seeded mobile or even a smartphone. Aadhaar-seeding is a controversial issue with political overtones, especially in the North-eastern regions.
    • Eligibility: There are several issues concerning the eligibility of persons to register as well as the definitional issues.
    • Exclusion: By excluding workers covered by EPF and ESI, lakhs of contract and fixed-term contract workers will be excluded from the universe of UW. Hazardous establishments employing even a single worker will have to be covered under the ESI, which means these workers also will be excluded.
    • No benefits for the aged: The NDUW excludes millions of workers aged over 59 from its ambit, which constitutes age discrimination.

    (D) Complex identities of workers

    • Migration: Many are circular migrant workers and they quickly, even unpredictably, move from one trade to another.
    • Mixed work: Many others perform formal and informal work as some during non-office hours may belong to the gig economy, for example as an Uber taxi or a Swiggy employee. They straddle formal and informal sectors.
    • Gig workers: Even though MOLE has included gig workers in this process, it is legally unclear whether the gig/platform worker can be classified first as a worker at all.

    (E) Other impediments

    • Dependence on States: The central government will have to depend on the State governments for this project to be successful.
    • Lack of coordination: In many States, the social dialogue with the stakeholders especially is rather weak or non-existent. The success of the project depends on the involvement of a variety of stakeholders apart from trade unions.
    • Corruption: There is also the concern of corruption as middle-service agencies such as Internet providers might charge exorbitant charges to register and print the E-Shram cards.

    Benefits: No immediate carrot

    • Workers stand to gain by registration in the medium to long run.
    • But the instant benefit of accident insurance upto ₹0.2 million to registered workers is surely not an attractive carrot.
    • The main point of attraction is the benefits they stand to gain during normal and crisis-ridden periods such as the novel coronavirus pandemic now which the Government needs to disseminate properly.

    Way forward

    • E-Shram is a vital system to provide hitherto invisible workers much-needed visibility.
    • It will provide the Labour Market Citizenship Document to them.
    • The govt should go one step further for triple linkage for efficient and leakage-less delivery of all kinds of benefits and voices to workers/citizens: One-Nation-One-Ration Card (ONOR), E-Shram Card (especially bank account seeded) and the Election Commission Card.
    • Last but not least, registrations cannot be a source of exclusion of a person from receiving social assistance and benefits.

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