(The Gist of PIB) Second National Judicial Pay

Second National Judicial Pay

• The Second National Judicial Pay Commission has filed the main part of the Report in 4 volumes covering the subject of Pay, Pension and Allowances, in the Registry of the Supreme Court on 29.01.2020.
• The Interim Report was submitted by the Commission in 2018.

The salient recommendations are:

PAY:

• The Commission having considered various alternative methodologies has recommended the adoption of Pay Matrix which has been drawn up by applying the multiplier of 2.81 to the existing pay, commensurate with the percentage of increase of pay of High Court Judges. @ 3% cumulative has been applied.
• As per the revised pay structure evolved by the Commission, the Junior Civil Judge/First Class Magistrate who's starting pay is Rs.27,700/- will now get Rs.77,840/-.
• The next higher post of Senior Civil Judge starts with the pay of Rs.1,11,000/- and that of the District Judge Rs.1,44,840/-. The highest pay which a District Judge (STS) will get, is Rs.2,24,100/-.

PENSION:

• Pension at 50% of last drawn pay worked out on the basis of proposed revised pay scales is recommended w. e. f. 1-1-2016. The family pension will be 30% of the last drawn pay.
• Additional quantum of pension will commence on completing the age of 75 years (instead of 80 years) and percentages at various stages thereafter are increased.
• The existing ceiling of retirement gratuity and death gratuity will be increased by 25% when the DA reaches 50%.

ALLOWANCES:

• The existing allowances have been suitably increased and certain new features have been added. However, the CCA is proposed to be discontinued.
• Certain new allowances viz. children education allowance, home orderly allowances, transport allowance in lieu of pool car facility, have been proposed. HRA proposed to be increased uniformly in all States. Steps to ensure proper maintenance of official quarters recommended.
• The recommendations made by the Commission are applicable to the Judicial officers throughout the country.
• The Supreme Court will have to issue directions regarding the implementation of recommendations after hearing the stakeholders.

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Women Entrepreneurs in India: Opportunities and Challenges

Introduction:

• Globally, the business world has realized and is working on war footing to create entrepreneurship as the final remedy to overcome all types of business and market challenges. Women are willing to take up business and contribute to the nation’s growth.
• Their role is being recognised and steps are taken to promote women entrepreneurship. Resurgence of entrepreneurship is the need of the hour.
• Women entrepreneurs must be moulded properly with entrepreneurial traits and skills to meet changing trends and challenging global markets, and also be competent enough to sustain and strive in the local economic arena.

Present context about women entrepreneurs:

• The 6th economic census, we will find that 13.76 percent of MSME's are women owned i.e. approximately 8.05 million out of 58.5 million businesses. The World Bank Enterprise Survey Data, an internationally comparative data set, suggests that 10.7 percent of MSMEs have female participation in ownership. In India, there are also urban/rural differences in rates of women’s entrepreneurship, with more women’s enterprises based in rural areas (22.24 per cent of all rural enterprises), compared to urban areas (18.42 per cent of all urban enterprises) according to Ministry of MSME Annual Report. Women's enterprises are also mainly micro sized or proprietary and the majority are informal.
• Looking into the state level distribution of women-owned enterprises, we will find that there is a variation in the distribution of women-owned enterprises across India at state level, suggesting diversity in the enabling environments for women entrepreneurship. The largest share in the number of establishments under women entrepreneurs are clustered in the southern states of India. In terms of female owned proprietary establishments, out of the top ten states, six states are from North East India.
• In the last five decades, there have been phenomenal changes in status and workplace diversity in India. During the fifties, there were two categories of women who started their own business— one who took to creating and managing entrepreneurial activity where there was no male earning and the second comprised of a very small percentage of women who had the courage to break the glass ceiling.

Reasons behind more women entrepreneurs needed:

• Economic growth: Women can start a new business that caters to a different market or niche than their male counterparts. Enabling women benefits future generations because women tend to spend more time on their children’s education and health, which in turn boosts productivity.
• Narrowing gender gap: Women entrepreneurs inspire other women to start business leading to job creation for women, which ultimately helps in bridging the gender gap in workforce. Narrowing the gender gap in employment will increase global income.
• Company culture and safety at workplace: Creating and preserving a strong positive company culture is a prerequisite for the growth and tong term success of any company. Studies show that a women-led company tends to have better company culture, high values and transparency. Women have struggled with how to maintain a work-life balance. It is seen that women-led organisations are more sensitive to safety issues.

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 CSIR's Integrated Skill Initiative Programme

Introduction:

• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s Integrated Skill Initiative Programme has been initiated with integrated skill initiatives in diverse areas with varying duration by the CSIR's labs. All these training programmes are interconnected and linked to industry requirements and thus would invariably contribute to the subsequent employment generation, including small-scale entrepreneurship.
• CSIR, with its nearly 8000 highly talented Science and Technology Personnel, excellent inter-disciplinary expertise, state-of-the-art facilities and a pan-India presence, is in a unique position to contribute towards the government's enterprise of enhancing programmes in skill India and Stand-up India.

Some of the major skill development programmes of CSIR:

• CSIR-Central Leather Research institute Chennai and Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes Cooperative Finance Corporation (APSCCFC) signed an agreement for skill training, upgradation and entrepreneurship development of 10000 underprivileged candidates who are below the double poverty line with arc aim of creating income generation assets for their households enabling their socio-economic development.
• CSIR-institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur initiated Skill Development Training Programmes on animal breeding and housing practices, hands-on laboratory experiment and analytical exposure, gardener, plant tissue culture, floriculturist protected cultivation and laboratory practices on animal houses.
• CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow started skill development programmes on healthcare and life sciences and offers six certificate courses of level III to VII under the CSIR-CDRI Skill Development Programme. Skill shortage remains one of the major constraints to continued growth of the Indian economy. This knowledge-gap can be addressed by professionally trained youth of India. The courses will meet the aspirations of students, young researchers and industry-sponsored personnel looking for training and will provide an opportunity for skill development and hands-on experience in the chosen area.
• CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow is contributing to the CSIR Skill Initiative by initiating Skill Development Certificate Course in Regulatory-Preclinical Toxicology with the emphasis on specialized courses related to environment, regulatory toxicology and computational biology where skill development is either inadequate or almost lacking. The objectives of these programmes are to skill the youths in such a way that they get employment.
• Today, with the country-wide operations of Skill India programmes based on science and technology, young India is being given new wings of development and the skilled youth are preparing for long goals.

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Delimitation in NE States (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: Polity
Prelims level: Delimitation exercise
Mains level: Importance and significations of the delimitation exercise

Regional bonding (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: International Relations
Prelims level: Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Mains level: India and its neighbourhood relations

Context:

• At a time when India has more or less shut down all conversations on the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and walked away from the ASEAN-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s push for regional economic integration and for India-Pakistan dialogue should be studied carefully by New Delhi.

Suggestions given by Mr. Wickremesinghe:

• Mr. Wickremesinghe set out a number of suggestions.
• He blamed India-Pakistan tensions for bringing economic integration within the SAARC region to a “standstill”, explaining that the original purpose of the South Asian group was to build a platform where bilateral issues could be set aside in the interest of regional growth.
• Decrying the .....................................

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Major challenges:

• The government has made it clear that talks with Pakistan are strictly off the table, and that a SAARC summit, which has not been held since 2014, is unlikely to be convened anytime soon.
• The government, which has taken a protectionist turn on multilateral trade pacts, is relying more on direct bilateral deals with countries rather than overarching ones that might expose Indian markets to flooding by Chinese goods.
• For any regional sub-grouping in South Asia to flourish, it is India that will have to make the most concessions given the vast trade deficits India’s neighbours have at present, which it may not wish to do.

Conclusion:

• The overall projection that India’s global reach will be severely constrained unless it is integrated with its neighbours, and tensions with Pakistan are resolved, cannot be refuted. India needs to be more accommodative for the realisation of its ambitions

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Delhi water doesn’t conform to ISO standards (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: Health
Prelims level: Bureau of Indian Standards
Mains level: Cause of the failed water quality as per Bureau of Indian Standards

Context:

• None of the drinking water samples randomly collected from across Delhi conforms to the ISO standards of purity in one or more requirements, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) informed the Supreme Court.

Bureau of Indian Standards:

• Of a total of 11 domestic piped drinking water samples, one is from the residence of Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Pawan.
• The sample taken from his 12, Janpath residence failed on the parameters of odour and aluminium and coliform contamination.
• The BIS functions under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

Key highlights of the BIS report:

• It was found that all the drinking water samples drawn from Delhi were non-conforming in one or more requirements as per IS 10500:2012 [specification for drinking water],” concluded a 64-page report filed by the Department of Laboratory Policy and Planning Department of the BIS.
• The samples were sent for testing at the laboratories accredited to the National Accreditation Board. The test reports are on record in the court.
• On January 13, the court ordered the pollution control board and the BIS to conduct a random check of water quality in Delhi and submit a report in a month.
• The BIS report said it drew samples from various locations across Delhi and 20 other State capitals under an integrated scheme.

Initiatives taken so far by the government:

• A Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta deputed another joint inspection by the Central Pollution Control Board, the BIS and Delhi Jal Board.
• The Delhi government has maintained that potable water in the national capital is safe. The re-inspection has been ordered for further clarity.
• The ..............................

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Conclusion:

• Coliform contamination occurs when faecal matter gets mixed with treated water supplied to consumers.
• Ultimately, consumers face dangerous gastrointestinal diseases, like dysentery, as a result of this contamination.

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On U.S.-Taliban agreement (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: Defense and Security
Prelims level: U.S.-Taliban agreement
Mains level: Highlights the U.S.-Taliban agreement

Cyber security: Issues and Challenges

Introduction:

• The world we live in is highly connected and digitally exhaustive. Of the 7.6 billion humans on earth, around 3.6 billion are online.
• Today, social networks have become one of the main communication channels. Within relatively short time social media has empowered people and connected them. But, at the same time, they have also provided platforms for some decidedly unhealthy and destructive behavior. Social media platforms have become just one of the endless data channels that cybercriminals are exploiting.

Bots:

• Bots and fake followers are a big concern in the social media environment. Bot programs target specific hash tags and work by auto commenting and auto-liking in order to attract followers who are mostly other fake bot accounts. These are automated systems which can on their own get engaged with other users without any active presence.
• Developed primarily for companies to engage with their users automatically for increasing customer engagement, bols are now being used much beyond their harmless cause and are misused for manipulating a conversation to creating a mirage of someone’s personality and much more.

Terrorist Attacks:

• Terrorists have always sought attention and that is what they receive from social media. Whenever there is any terror attack, as a response to the horrific events, people share images and videos of the devastating attack on social media. Social media thus spread the horror far and wide and unknowingly amplify the chaos that the terrorists intend to spread. In the process, misinformation and fear spread. It further traumatisms the families of the victims and also the public at large.
• Extremists use social media to make an impact. They even use it to recruit, propagate and to connect. Moreover, they rely on the regular social media users to spread the impact of terror further to a greater degree than what they themselves could have done in addition to confusing authorities with misinformation.
• Misinformation, the rapid spread of false information through social media is among the emerging risks identified in Global Risks Report. Fake news and rumours spread like wildfire in the social media and it is also increasingly used for militancy.
• Social media sites have now initiated reporting procedures that allow users to flag any kind of content that supports terrorism which can be then removed. Also, the social networking sites today are playing an important role in counter terrorism operations. The law enforcement authorities make good use of social media by keeping people informed regularly. For example, Assam State Police opened a cell to monitor social media and keep track of the spread of rumours.

Mobile Technologies:

• Accelerator, microphone, camera, location, contacts, gyroscope (for orientation), heart rate, proximity, light, temperature, pressure, barometer (for altitude) are some of the information that are collected from your phone. All the apps that you use let your Smartphone know who you are, where you are, where you have been, who you know, where the people you currently are, what you bought, where you bought, what you ate, whether you went and even your current mood.
• A popular third-party app recently disclosed a data breach that compromised all of its 4.7 million users’ email addresses and phone numbers. This data can be used to execute large-scale phishing attacks meant to compromise a company’s network and systems.
• Internet of Things (IoTs) is another such challenge posed by the new technology whereby every object we use is equipped with the capabilities to identify, locate, sense its surroundings, compute and communicate. Now what will happen if all these objects could talk to each other and share information? It is said that soon there will be one billion IoT devices and they will all be talking to each other. Imagine what a rich attack surface it is going to give the hacker and the number of attacks that can happen with IoT devices.

Ransom ware:

• This ransom demanding malware is a virus which gets into your computer, either when you download an attachment containing the virus or when you visit any such website and click on a link. Once it gets into your computer, it starts to encrypt all your files thereby rendering them useless.
• The only way to unlock your files is to get a secret key from the hacker by paying a ransom. And this ransom is usually demanded through bit coin which keeps the payee anonymous. There has been a 600% increase in ransom ware variants since 2016. Major universities, hospitals, businesses and even individuals have been target of such attacks.

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Big Data:

• We are actually living in exponential data times. In just 60 seconds 149,513 emails can be sent, 3.3 million FB posts can be made, 3.8 million Google searches can be performed, 500 hours of YouTube videos can be uploaded. 29 million Whats app messages can be sent and 448,800 Tweets can be made and millions of other online activities can be performed leaving incredibly large digital footprint.
• Unfortunately, humans are the weakest link in the cyber security chain. Amateurs hack systems but professionals hack people. It is way easier to con people using social engineering techniques and make them reveal information rather than using tools and technology.
• The weakest link happens to be our password with which social accounts, mail accounts and millions of bank accounts have been hacked. An analysis of 32 million breached accounts has revealed that people most often use insecure passwords.
• While all these make cyberspace a huge threat in the socio-economic environment of the present times, it has become imperative to create awareness in the use of digital platforms through digital literacy. Digital literacy is an essential requirement for safe and secure use of digital resources which can contribute to efficiently tackle cyberspace.

Protection against Cyber Attacks:

• As the channels and networks for data sharing continue to evolve and grow, so do the risks. For securing information on the social networking sites, following guidelines can be followed:
• Limit the amount of information that you disclose on the social networking sites;
• Do not establish friendship with strangers;
• Do not believe online information blindly as it can be misleading;
• Customize your system settings according to your needs by changing the default settings. Learn how to use privacy settings on your social profiles properly;
• Beware of third-party applications. Avoid applications that seem suspicious, and make sure to modify your settings to limit the amount of information which the applications can access;
• Secure your system, because unsecured network can lead to loss of your personal data;
• Use antivirus software to secure your computers and electronic devices;
• Use strong passwords to protect your account and personal information. Change your passwords frequently;
• Do not set the same password for all social accounts, because if one site’s password is compromised, all other accounts will be exposed to threats;
• Choose a suitable authentication scheme so that no one can access the details. Two-factor and multi-factor authentication should be in place. In two factor authentication along with username and password, another form of identification, often a security code in the form of a "Captcha”, is used. In multi-factor authentication, more than in one form of authentication to verify an identity is used. Some examples are facial recognition, iris recognition, voice ID and finger scanning. Today’s digital world necessitates people to know the network security implications and spot suspicious activities. Over sharing helps hackers steal PII and sell it to the dark web.

Conclusion:

• Digital literacy is a broader concept that consists of developing new skills and knowledge which provides awareness and advanced level thinking skills. It is extremely essential to be digitally literate for appropriate utilizations of digital information resources.
• Therefore, it is the responsibility of each one of us to understand and help others to understand and use cyberspace sensibly and responsibly. This will definitely ensure that the netizens are not only techno-sawy and socially existent but also digitally safe.

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Key Initiatives in Education

Introduction:

• The Government of India initiated the process of formulating a New Education Policy. It aims to meet the changing dynamics of the requirements of the population with regard to quality education, innovation and research to make India a knowledge superpower by equipping its students with the necessary skills and knowledge.
• Also, to eliminate the shortage of manpower in science, technology, academics and industry.

Key Reforms in School Education

NISHTHA:

• A National Mission to improve learning outcomes at the elementary level through an Integrated Teacher Training Programme called NISHTHA - National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement was launched. This integrated programme aims to build the capacities of around 42 lakh teachers and heads of schools, faculty members of SCERTs and DIETs, Block Resource Coordinators and Cluster Resource Coordinators.
• The initiative is first of its kind wherein standardised training modules are developed at national level for all states and UTs. However, states and UTs can contextualise the training modules and use their own material and resource persons also, keeping in view the core topics and expected outcomes of NISHTHA.

DHRUV:

• The Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Program (DHRUV) was launched to identify and encourage talented children to enrich their skills and knowledge.
• The Programme 'DHRUV will act as a platform to explore the talent of outshining and meritorious students, and help them achieve excellence in their specific areas of interest may it be science, performing arts, creative writing, etc. These talented students apart from realising their full potential are expected to contribute to society in a big way.

Shagun:

• One of world's largest Integrated Online Junction for – School Education ‘Shagun’ is an overarching initiative to improve school education system by creating a junction for all online portals and websites relating to various activities of the Department of School Education and Literacy in the Government of India and all States and Union Territories.
• About 1200 Kendriya Vidyalayas, 600 Navodaya Vidyalayas, around 20000 CBSE affiliated schools, 30 SCERTs, 19000 organisations affiliated with NCTE among others are integrated with Shagun. Report cards of 15 lakh schools all over the country will be available on the newly created junction.
• The portal seeks to connect approximately 92 lakh teachers and 26 crore students. Common people can directly give their feedback about schools which will further increase the public participation and will ensure accountability and transparency.

Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+):

• To ensure quality, credibility and timely availability of information from all the schools in the county the revamped UDISE has been launched. The GIS based mapping portal gives information about the location of more than 15 lakh schools in the country along with some salient highlights. The Data Analytics portal gives information about the aggregate position of the school.

Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSIIA) 2.0:

• DIKSHA Portal was launched in 2017 for providing digital platforms to teachers giving them an opportunity to learn and train themselves and connect with the teacher community. This initiative has been taken forward to enhance coverage and improve the quality of e-content for teachers.
• Till date, more than 67000 content pieces have been hosted on DIKSHA and more than 10.5 crore scans have been affected.

Operation Digital Board (ODB):

• The aim is to provide by March 2023, two smart classrooms for every Secondary/Senior Secondary schools in 1,01,967 Government and 42,917 aided schools in all States/UTs and 1704 KVs and N Vs making a total of 1 ,46,.5S8 schools.

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Key Reforms in Higher Education Five-year vision plan:

‘Education Quality Up gradation and Inclusion Programmed’ (EQUIP):

• The Department of Higher Education of MHRD has released a five-year vision plan named ‘Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP).
• This report sets out to deliver further on principles of access, inclusion, quality, excellence and enhancing employability in Higher Education.
• EQUIP is a vision plan aiming at ushering transformation in India's higher education system by implementing strategic interventions in the sector over five years (2019-2024).
• EQUIP has been prepared based on reports of 10 expert groups constituted to deliberate upon important aspects of Higher Education.

Institution of Eminence (IoE):

• Ten institutions in the public sector and 10 institutions in the private sector have to be declared as IoE. Each public institute (IoE) will be eligible to receive Rs. 1000 crore during the next 5 years.

SWAYAM 2.0:

• SWAYAM 2.0 is initiated with enhanced features and facilities to offer online degree programmes through SWAYAM by top ranking universities. SWAYAM PRABHA- DTH Educational Channels It is a project to telecast high quality educational programs through 32 DTH channels on 24x7 basis to reach out to student/learners of India with wide reach and minimal cost.
• It aims to support those students who do not have good learning options like lack of teacher or internet etc. It also aims to provide dedicated channels ‘IITPAL’ to assist the students of XI and XII standards aspiring to join premier educational institutions in the country.

Implementation of Quality Improvement Programme:

• Deeksharambh: A guide to Student Induction Programme has been launched. Total 319 HEIs have implemented the Student Induction Programme.
• Learning outcomes based curriculum framework (LOCF) revision: New curriculum in 16 subjects which is based on LOCF has been uploaded on UGC website to facilitate universities to revise the curriculum.
• Use of ICT based learning tools for effective teaching learning process: 125 universities have come on board for accepting credit transfer done through SWAYAM platform.
• Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India's Developing Economy (STRIDE): Launched for promoting quality research by faculty and creation of new knowledge.
• PARAMARSH: A scheme to mentor institutions seeking National Assessment and Accreditation Council accreditation.

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A Futuristic Approach towards open and distance learning (Mint)

Mains Paper 3: Science and Tech
Prelims level: Open and Distance Learning
Mains level: Open and Distance Learning opportunities and challenges

Context:

• Open and Distance Learning (ODL) is distinct because of its teaching methodology. In ODL, the presence of learners is not mandatory except in practical-based programmes and ultimately communication takes place in one way leading to dropouts in number of cases.
• In Distance Education teaching is done with a variety of “mediating process” used to transmit content, to provide tuition and to conduct assessment or measure outcomes.

How ICT can be more useful in ODL?

• ODL can be made more interactive through the use of technology like managing the virtual classroom with the use of internet, development of web-based hypermedia, use of interactive teleconferencing and radio counselling etc.
• In the virtual classroom the learners and the teachers meet in the cyberspace, a question and answer session follows.
• The web-based study helps the learners and teachers to access the information at their own choice of time and convenience.
• In addition, regular interactive teleconferencing, which is one-way video and two-way audio satellite-based learning facility and radio counselling sessions may be used for the learners. Importance of IT:
• IT can promote the opportunities of restructuring the teaching-learning process and transform it by offering alternatives to the teacher in providing information, access to virtually unlimited resources, and opportunities for real world communication, collaboration and competition.
• Web can enrich the learning resources and help institutions refocus from teaching to learning, from teacher to learner. It can create learning environment throughout the world by networked learning communities.
• Networks may create educative environments embedded in democratic philosophy of instruction and helping learners learn.
• ICT is a potentially powerful tool for extending educational opportunities, both formal and non-formal. For developing countries ICT has the potential for increasing access to and improving the relevance and quality of education.
• The use of computers in ODL has provided new pedagogical strategies in distance learning as well as giving more autonomy to the distance leaners.
• The main advantages of using technologies in distance education are cost effectiveness, independence of time and place, quality of education access resulting from the mass production of course materials, teaching a lot of students simultaneously, and finding a lot of educational resources.

Way Forward:

• In using technology which can be integrated into the distance education system, the following factors should be considered: accessibility, cost effectiveness, human acceptance, and pedagogical suitability.
• In the era of information technology teachers will be spending more time in facilitating students rather than delivering lectures in the classrooms.
• They would be working in groups: preparing and evaluating instructional materials and organizing data into meaningful information and accessible forms.
• They will also be demonstrating the potential of skill development in students by using information in problematic situations.
• Certain skills capabilities of using different information technologies are necessary for of the students and teachers.
• We have to think about the uses of media and technology in regard to appropriateness and acceptability in the society as well as on the ability of the institution offering the programme.
• The socio-economic and cultural background of a person influences their ability to learn from different media technology.

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Initiatives in Education (Mint)

Mains Paper 3: Science and Tech
Prelims level: Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusive Programme
Mains level: Highlights the key Reforms in School Education

Context:

• In pursuance of the Government’s vision for ‘Transforming India’, MHRD took a leap forward in transforming the education sector.
• Department of Higher Education of the Ministry has released a five-year vision plan named Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusive Programme (EQUIP).
• SWAYAM 2.0, Deeksharambh and PARAMARSH are some of the major schemes of this department.

Key reforms in School Education:

• NISHTHA: A National Mission to improve learning outcomes at the elementary level through an Integrated Teacher Training Programme called NISHTHA – National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement was launched.
• DHRUV: The Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Program (DHRUV) was launched to identify and encourage talented children to enrich their skills and knowledge. It will act as a platform to explore the talent of outshining and meritorious students, and help them achieve excellence in their specific area of interest.
• Shagun: One of World’s largest Integrated Online Junction for – School Education ‘Shagun’ is an overarching initiative to improve school education system by creating a junction for all online portals and websites relating to various activities of the Department of School Education and Literacy.
• Report cards of 15 lakh schools all over the country will be available on the newly created junction. Common people can directly give their feedback about schools which will further increase the public participation and will ensure accountability and transparency.
• Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+): To ensure quality, credibility and timely availability of information from all the schools in the country,
  the revamped UDISE+ has been launched. The Data Analytics portal gives information about the aggregated position of the school.
• Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) 2.0: It was launched in 2017 for providing digital platform to teachers giving them an opportunity to learn and train themselves and connect with teacher community.
• Operation Digital Board (ODB): The aim is to provide by March 2023, two smart classrooms for every Secondary/Senior Secondary schools.

Key Reforms in Higher Education:

• Five-year vision plan ‘Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme’ (EQUIP): EQUIP is a vision plan aiming at ushering transformation in India’s higher education system by implementing strategic interventions in the sector over five years (2019-24).
• Institution of Eminence (IoE): Ten institutions in public sector and 10 institutions in private sector have to be declared as IoE. Each IoE will be eligible to receive Rs. 1000 crore during next 5 years.
• SWAYAM 2.0: It is initiated with enhanced features and facilities to offer online degree programmes through SWAYAM by top ranking universities.
• SWAYAM PRABHA – DTH Educational Channels: It is a project to telecast high-quality educational programs through 32 DTH channels on 24/7 basis to reach out to students/learners of India with wide reach and minimal cost. It also aims to provide dedicated channels ‘IITPAL’ to assist the students of XI and XII standards aspiring to join premier educational institutions in the country.

Implementation of Quality Improvement Programme:

• Deeksharambh – A guide to Student Induction Programme has been launched.
• Learning outcomes based curriculum framework (LOCF) revision – New Curriculum in 16 subjects which is based on LOCF has been uploaded on UGC website to facilitate universities to revise the curriculum.
• Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy (STRIDE) – Launched for promoting quality research by faculty and creation of new knowledge.
• PARAMARSH – A scheme to mentor institutions seeking National Assessment and Accreditation Council accreditation.

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The global synergy in higher education (Mint)

Mains Paper 3: Science and Tech
Prelims level: Global Initiative of Academic Networks
Mains level: Higher Education – Critical Challenges for India

Context:

• India aims to become a five trillion dollar economy by 2024-25; the realisation of this goal is incumbent upon the capability of its education and training institutions to equip young Indians with knowledge and skills relevant to an evolving job markets.
• It needs quality, excellence, innovation and constant upgradation.

Aspiration in Higher Education:

• India’s draft National Education Policy aims at increasing the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education to at least 50% by 2035, which would mean that one in four graduates in the world would be a product of the Indian higher education system.
• The current GER stands at just 26.3%, and doubling it in the next 15 years will require significant reforms both at planning and execution level. India’s GER is lower than the global average of 36.7%.

Opportunities:

• India enjoys a demographic dividend. It is world’s youngest country with an average age of 29. This comes at a time, when rest of the world is ageing. Average working age in US is 40, Western Europe is 46 and Japan is 47 years.
• Thus, India will not only have a young workforce to fulfil its domestic needs, it also has the opportunity to be the global hub for skilled workforce.

Higher Education – Critical Challenges for India:

• The above-mentioned opportunity also presents a challenge. If we fail to create a suitable environment, this dividend will be converted into demographic burden.
• Market forces have played a major role in the higher education landscape. Of the 993 universities in India, nearly 39% are privately managed. Of the 39,931 colleges, 78% are from private sector.
• Private colleges cater to 66.4% of the total enrolment in higher education, which means that a mere 22% of govt. colleges are catering to a disproportionately large number of students who could not afford to seek higher education in private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
• Increasing social aspirations have made the education divide between urban and rural centres more obvious.
• The college density (per one hundred thousand eligible population) is 28 nationally, it varies from 7 in Bihar to 53 in Karnataka.
• The opportunity cost of higher education (commute, hostel fees etc.) for disadvantaged section is often too high and hinders the education process.
• Low employability of graduates, poor quality of teaching, weak governance, insufficient funding, and complex regulatory norms continue to affect the Indian higher education sector.
• The number of international students is generally a reliable indicator of the quality and robustness of a higher education system. As of 2018-19, only 47,427 foreign students were enrolled in the Indian higher education system (China – more than 400000, Germany – More than 3,00,000).
• Globally India caters to less than one per cent of all International students.
• Indian institutes have failed to feature in the top 100 of world university rankings published by reputed ranking frameworks. The outflow of Indian students for education abroad is itself more than 15 times the inflow of international students to India.

Why We Need Global Cooperation?

• Getting the right education is critical for India to maximise the potential of its demographic dividend. India will not have the capacity to meet this demand on its own.
• NITI Aayog and several other organizations have developed policy documents on higher education that have stressed on the need of international assistance in higher education.
• India’s recently released draft National Education Policy 2019 proposes inviting the top 200 global universities to establish foreign branch campus in India.
• MHRD developed a five-year action plan named EQUIP (Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme). The initiative is made to bring transformation in the higher education system in the upcoming 5 years.
• NITI Aayog has more recently favoured the development of Exclusive Education Zones (EEZs) akin to SEZs in a few select cities in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chandigarh and parts of Sikkim, to boost growth in the flow of foreign students.

Opportunity for Deeper Engagement:

• International education is Australia’s third largest export industry. As a world class provider of education and training, Australia is well positioned to partner with India in the higher education sector.
• Linkages between HEIs and industries with diversified course offerings can prepare students for the job market.
• Global education institutes may also consider looking at building partnerships, beyond HEIs in metro cities of tier 2 and tier 3 cities and regional/state institutions, which offered tremendous possibilities because of large number of students with untapped potential and lack foreign collaborations currently.
• The joint student-academic mobility programmes, joint research, international collaborations boost rankings.
• India is also seeking to attract international faculty into the country for short-term research and teaching visits. Indian government initiatives like the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), which provides funding for teaching at selected Indian higher education institutions and Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) are opportunities to be explored.
• However, lack of knowledge of India’s higher education sector, including how to address regulatory issues, contributes to low faculty participation in mobility schemes.

Way Forward:

• Partnership may look beyond silos and into areas where Australia has an advantage and India has a need, for instance, in mining safety, bio engineering, signal processing, AI, cyber security, climate change etc.
• Increasing the level of mutual cultural understanding and developing a strong knowledge base for India and Australia can further bolster these relations.
• Increased focus on vocational and professional led education can help India find ways to up-skill 400 million workers by 2022.
• However, what is needed is targeted and granular advice from governments to assist providers to identify, from the mass of possibilities, viable opportunities that match Australian strengths with Indian needs.
• Also, Indian students’ expectations around cost and employment outcomes need to be understood carefully.

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In Conversation with Dr K Sivan (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 3: Science and Tech
Prelims level: Satellite Instructional Television Experiment
Mains Level: Role of Space Technology in Imparting Informal Education to Farmers

Context:

• SITE was the largest sociological experiment in the world. This satellite communications experiment was performed for one year during 1975-76 by ISRO.
• During SITE, TV programmes on subjects such as health, hygiene, family planning and agriculture were beamed through satellite (stationed in 36,000 km high geostationary orbit).
• SITE experience enabled ISRO to evolve INSAT system for rapid expansion of country’s telecommunication, TV broadcasting and weather monitoring infrastructure.

EDUSAT Programme:

• During this programme, GSAT-3 or EDUSAT, a dedicated satellite for the educational field, was launched by GSLV and utilized for enhancing the outreach as well as the quality of the formal as well as informal education sectors.

DHRUV:

• DHRUV, the Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme, was started to identify and encourage talented children to enrich their skills and knowledge.
• Gifted children will be mentored and nurtured by renowned experts in different areas in centres of excellence across the country, so that they can reach their full potential.
• With children drawn from all over the country, the DHRUV programme reflects the true spirit of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat.

Role of Space Technology in Imparting Informal Education to Farmers:

• During SITE programme, TV documentaries on agriculture made in vernacular languages were beamed to farmers on improving agricultural practices.
• Later during APPLE and INSAT utilization programmes, TV documentaries specific to various subjects on agriculture were made and telecast through satellites and they have been continuing.
• Weather monitoring satellites like Kalpana and INSAT – 3D have become instrumental in the accurate weather prediction. Remote sensing satellites have enabled our agricultural scientists to detect crop diseases, accurately estimate crop acreage, crop yield, soil quality, which ultimately will bring benefits to the farmers.

Young Scientist Programme (Yuvika):

• Yuvika is primarily aimed at imparting basic knowledge on space technology and its applications as well as space science to the younger ones with the intent of arousing their interest in the emerging areas of space activities.
• The two week long residential training programme involves invited talks and experience sharing by the eminent scientists, facility and lab visits, hands on training, exclusive sessions for discussions with experts and more importantly, a feedback session.

Samwad with Students:

• It was launched by ISRO as part of its enhanced outreach programme. The interaction of scientists with students goes a long way in awakening the curiosity and creativity lying inside the student community.
• With this in mind, as well as with the intention of making our young students proud of their country’s achievements in space through the narrative of ISRO scientists themselves, ‘Samwad with Students’ programme was also launched.

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State lethargy amidst cough syrup poisoning (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2: Health
Prelims level: Coldbest-PC
Mains Level: Regulations needed in public health measures

Context:

• 12 children died in Udhampur district of Jammu due to poisoned cough syrup (Coldbest-PC). More are fighting for their life in a hospital.
• A team of doctors at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, attributed the deaths to the presence of diethylene glycol in the cough syrup which was consumed by all the dead children.
• Diethylene glycol is an anti-freezing agent that causes acute renal failure in the human body followed by paralysis, breathing difficulties and ultimately death.

Incidents occurred in the past:

• This is the fourth mass glycol poisoning event in India that has been caused due to a pharmaceutical drug.
• In 1973, there was a similar incident at the Children’s Hospital, Egmore in Chennai that caused the deaths of 14 children. In 1986, similar poisoning at Mumbai’s J.J. Hospital caused the deaths of 14 patients who were otherwise on the path to recovery.
• In 1998, 33 children died in two hospitals located in New Delhi due to similar poisoning.
• In all three cases, the manufacturer of the suspect cough syrup, due to negligence or human error, failed to detect and contain the level of diethylene glycol in the syrup, thereby causing poisoning of the patients who consumed it.

Tracking the sold bottles

• There will be plenty of time later to ascertain the cause and prosecute the guilty but the immediate concern for doctors, pharmacists and the drug regulators should be to prevent any more deaths.
• The only way to do so is to account for each and every bottle of the poisoned syrup that has ever been sold in the Indian market and stop patients from consuming this drug any further.
• Any patient who has consumed even a spoon of the syrup should then immediately be referred to a hospital for treatment.

Lacking of the public health measures:

• The authorities are simply not communicating the seriousness of the issue to the general public.
• There is no transparency in the recall process and information about recalls and batch numbers is not being communicated through authoritative channels.
• There is no public announcement by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), which is responsible for overall regulation of the entire Indian market.
• The suspect product, although manufactured in H.P., has been sold across the country. The website of the DCGI, which is supposed to communicate drug alerts and product recalls, has no mention of Coldbest-PC as being dangerous as of this writing.

Need for a recall policy:

• One of the key reasons why the DCGI and state drug authorities have been so sloppy is because unlike other countries, India has not notified any binding guidelines or rules on recalling dangerous drugs from the market.
• The 59th report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health as well as the World Health Organization (in its national regulatory assessment) had warned the DCGI on the lack of a national recall framework in India.
• A set of recall guidelines was drafted in 2012 but never notified into law.
• A national recall of this adulterated medicine is the immediate need, the administration also needs to quickly identify which other pharmaceutical companies have received the spurious ingredient that was supplied to the manufacturer in H.P. from a trader in Chennai.

Way ahead:

• It is very likely that the trader in question marketed the same ingredient to other pharmaceutical companies, who, like the manufacturer at the centre of the present scandal, may have failed to test it for its identity and purity.
• It is important for regulatory enforcement to raid and seize the records of the trader in Chennai and verify its sales.

Conclusion:

• As of today, we have little to no information on whether any of this is happening. The lackadaisical response of drug regulators in India is not surprising.
• It is the result of a larger lethargy and arrogance that is emblematic of the babudom which is responsible for keeping us safe from unethical practices of pharmaceutical companies.

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(The Gist of Science Reporter) App Insect 3D

 [FEBRUARY-2020]

App Insect 3D

• Researchers of Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) created and designed an interactive taxonomic App, named Insects 3D.
• It gives a unique augmented reality experience which pairs with a taxonomic research paper.
• It presents six new species of Strumigenys ants, also recognised as tiny trap-jaw ants, from Fiji.
• The scientists have used 3D x-ray scans to create digital models of the ants.
• The application also allows users to view 3D models of ant specimens in augmented reality.
• It also allows them to place ants in the real world using the App.
• Users can even magnify the species as per their choice.
• The research was published in Insect Systematics and Diversity.

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(The Gist of Science Reporter) First Smart Speaker System

 [FEBRUARY-2020]

First Smart Speaker System

• Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new smart speaker skill (BreathJunior) that allows a device to use white noise to soothe sleeping babies and monitor their breathing and movements.
• BreathJunior tracks both small motions like the chest movement involved in breathing and large motions when babies move around their cribs.
• It also picks up the sound of a baby crying.
• When it was tested by the researchers with five babies in a local hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, it detected respiratory rates closely matching standard vital sign monitors.

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(The Gist of PIB) National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme

National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme

• The Central Sector Scheme ‘National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme’ (NMMSS) is being implemented since 2008 with the objective to award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue the study at secondary stage.
  • Under the Scheme one lakh fresh scholarships @ of Rs.12000/- per annum per student are awarded to selected students of class IX every year and their continuation/renewal in classes X to XII for study in a State Government, Government-aided and Local body schools.

Key highlights:

• There is a separate quota of scholarships for each State/UT. The selection of students for award of scholarships under the scheme is made through an examination conducted by the States/UTs Governments. As on date approx 16.93 lakh scholarships have been sanctioned to the Students across the country.
• The scheme has been on National Scholarship Portal (NSP) since 2015-16.
• The NSP has been developed by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) for streamlining and fast tracking the release of Scholarships across Ministries / Departments with efficiency, transparency and reliability.
• The eligible students from different States/UTs register themselves on NSP.

Background:

• The Scheme was evaluated by the National Institute of Planning and Administration (NIEPA).
• As per the evaluation study report, the scheme helped poor families in sending their meritorious children for secondary and senior secondary education and has therefore recommended for increasing the scholarship amount from Rs. 500/- to Rs. 1000/- per month for class IX and class X students and Rs. 1500/- per month for Class XI and XII students to make the scheme more attractive and effective.
• Accordingly, with the approval of the Expenditure Finance Committee the rate of scholarship has been enhanced from Rs. 6000/- to Rs. 12000/- per annum with effect from 1st April, 2017.

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(The Gist of PIB) Buying of Palm Oil from Malaysia

Buying of Palm Oil from Malaysia

• The major challenges in oilseed production are largely rain-fed conditions (70% area), high seed cost (Groundnut and Soybean), small holding with limited resources, low seed replacement rate and low productivity.

Key benefits:

• The following action point will be initiated for increasing production and productivity of oilseeds and promotion of Secondary Sources of Edible oils:
• Increasing seed replacement rate and varietal replacement rate
• Promotion of oilseed in rice fallow/ potato areas
• Promotion of oilseeds through intercropping
• Extending oilseed cultivation in nontraditional area
• Targeting 100 low productivity districts
• Crop diversification in different reasons
• Promotion of community based oil extraction unit
• Value addition and promotion of export
• Promotion of rice bran and cottonseed oil
• Consumer awareness for judicious consumption of oils for good health

Strategies of the following output:

• The above strategies will deliberate the following output by the end of 2024-25:
• Oilseed production will be increased from 30.88 to 47.80 million tonnes
• Productivity will be increase from 1263 to 1587 kg per ha
• Reduction in import dependence from 60% to 45%
• Edible oil production will be 18.00 million tonne from 10.50 million tonnes.

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Skilling the youth through Science and Technology

Introduction:

• India is expected to have 34.33 per cent share of youth in total population by 2020. There is a need for skilled youth in the field of science and technology in the country so that their proficiency in various tasks can be fully utilized. Skill development programmes are being conducted with the aim of connecting large youth population in various science and technology related enterprises.

Importance of skill development through Science and Technology:

• The skill development programmes are being organised by various units and councils of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and by various national laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change also initiated the Green Skill Development Programme.
• Major changes in the Indian economy and the accelerated rate of industrial growth imply a larger demand for vocational skills. The rapid migration of rural population to urban areas has also created a demand for trained people to meet the needs of urban services. Further, a variety of new services have emerged such as financial, health, media, advertisement, urban utilities, cable TV and entertainment, and telecom services. There has also been a sharp growth and new product/service introduction in the agro-food processing industries for both internal use and for exports, requiring special skills.

Science, Technology and Innovation Policy:

• As per the India's Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STI) 2013 "science, technology and innovation should focus on faster, sustainable and inclusive development of the people. The policy seeks to focus on both STI for people and people for STI.
• It aims to bring all the benefits of Science, Technology and Innovation to the national development and sustainable and more inclusive growth. It seeks the right sizing of the gross expenditure on research and development by encouraging and incentivizing private sector participation in research and development, technology and innovation activities.
• A Strong and viable Science, Research and Innovation System for High Technology led path for India (SRISHTI) are the goal for the STI policy. This can only be achieved through skill development in science and technology. The key features of STI policy also include, “enhancing skills for applications of science among the young from all social sectors”.

Skill Development Training through Science and Technology (STST):

• Skill Development Training Through Science and Technology (STST) aims at development of skills through training intervention by developing special curricula and creation of models for offbeat and innovative skill areas.
• The National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), DST has initiated programmes of entrepreneurship development and self-employment generation using Science and Technology methods and techniques and by using the expertise developed in technical and Research and Development institutions for upgrading skills.
• With Development of new and better technologies it becomes essential to upgrade the skills of man-power using such enhanced versions of equipment/tools.
• Training has been a long felt need in some of these areas and NSTEDB has been trying to fulfill this gap right from its inception. The present STST addresses itself to upgrade the skills in a need-based manner for a select group of processes and technologies.
• The main objectives of STST are to demonstrate that skills can be developed through the application of Science and Technology in order to harness the resources of Science and Technology infrastructure of the country, which have so far remained under-utilised as well as for skill development training to enhance quality of services/products and thereby enhancing income generation among skilled workers. Each training programme under STST will vary depending upon the type of trade.
• However, an attempt would be made to keep the duration less than a year and in most cases between 2 to 3 months.

National Implementing and Monitoring Agency for Training (NIMAT) NSTEDB and DST:

With the objectives to promote and strengthen Science and Technology entrepreneurship, the NSTEDB sponsors.

• Entrepreneurship Awareness Camp,
• Entrepreneurship Development Programme/Women Entrepreneurship Development Programme,
• Technology based Entrepreneurship Development Programme and
• Faculty Development Programme.

NIDHI-STEP / TBIS and NIDHI-PRAYAS:

• National Initiative of Development and Harnessing Innovation (NIDHI)-Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Parks and Technology Business Incubators (STEP/TBIS) are institutional linked facilities promoted by the Department of Science and Technology to nurture innovative and technologically-led new ventures during the initial and critical period i.e. the start-up phase.
• In the present climate of innovation in India, there is support available for both Research and Development of ideas and commercialization of products, especially that which is provided by STEPs and TBIs promoted by National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) of DST.
• However, the primary aim of the STEPs and TBIs is to tap innovations and technologies for venture creation by utilising expertise and infrastructure already available with the host institution, be it an academic, technical, management institution, or a technology and a research park.

Student Start-up NIDHI Award:

• Student Start-up NIDHI (National Initiative of Development and Harnessing Innovation) award aims to take forward student innovations in New Generation Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre (NewGen IEDC) to commercialization stage and accelerate the journey of idea to prototype by providing initial funding assistance.
• National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), DST has taken this initiative of helping start-ups with initial / ignition funding. It aims to financially support (maximum 20 student start-ups each year with Rs 10 lakh each.
• There is a definite need to address the gap in the very early stage idea/ proof of concept funding. Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring technology entrepreneurs (PRAYAS) is one of the nine programs, specifically made to support young innovators turn their ideas into proof-of-concepts.
• This support shall allow the innovators to try their ideas without fear of failure, hence allowing them to reach a stage where they have a ready product and are willing to approach incubators for commercialization. Hence NIDHI-PRAYAS can be considered a pre-incubation initiative and a source of Pipeline for incubators.

Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN):

• This is an exclusive scheme for women with the mandate to bring gender parity in Science and Technology through gender mainstreaming. The programme is aimed at providing opportunities to women scientists who had a break in their career primarily due to family responsibilities.
• KIRAN is aimed to provide opportunities to women scientists and technologists for pursuing research in basic or applied sciences in frontier areas of science and engineering, focused on Science and Technology solutions of challenges/issues at the grassroots level for social benefit and create opportunity for self-employment and also a sustainable career for the women scientists.
• The scheme provides one year internship in the domain of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) which includes theory as well as hands on training in law firms.

Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research- AWSAR:

• Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research (AWSAR) is an initiative that aims to disseminate Indian research stories among the masses in an easy to understand and interesting format. AWSAR has been initiated by the National Council of Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), to encourage, empower and endow popular science writing among young PhD scholars and post-doctoral fellows during the course of their higher studies and research pursuits.
• As over 20,000 youth are awarded PhD in Science and Technology every year in India, The scheme aims to tap this tremendous potential to popularise and communicate science and also to inculcate scientific temperament in the masses.
• One hundred best entries from PhD scholars are awarded in a year. Further, twenty entries are selected from articles submitted exclusively by postdoctoral fellows relating to their line of research for monetary incentives, the highest of which can go up to Rs. 1lakh. This programme is being coordinated by Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous institute of DST (Department of Science and Technology).

Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP):

• Green skills contribute to preserving or restoring environmental quality for sustainable future and include jobs that protect ecosystems and biodiversity, reduce energy and minimize waste and pollution. In line with the Skill India Mission, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFandCC) has taken up an initiative for skill development in the environment and forest sector to enable India's youth to get gainful employment and self-employment, called the Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP). It enhances the employability of people in jobs that contribute to preserving or restoring the quality of the environment, while improving human wellbeing and social equity.

Technology based Entrepreneurship Development Programme (TEDP):

• Technology based Entrepreneurship Development Programme (TEDP) primarily focuses on training and development need of Science and Technology entrepreneurs in a specific technology area (for example, leather, plastic, electronics and communication, fragrance and flavour, instrumentation, sports goods, biotechnology, IT computer hardware, food processing, bio-medical equipment, glass and ceramics, jute products sustainable building materials, herbs and medical plants processing, etc.).
• The participants are provided with hands-on training in indigenous technologies developed by Research and Development institutions that are available for commercial exploitation.

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Skill development: A way forward

Introduction:

• The National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 mentions that more than 54 per cent of India’s population is below 25 years of age and 62 per cent of India’s population is aged between 15 and 59 years. This demographic dividend is expected to last for the next 25 years.
• The policy also says that the average age of the population in India is 29 years as against 40 years in USA, 46 years in Europe and 47 years in Japan. Labour force in the industrialized world is expected to decline by 4 per cent, while in India it will increase by 32 percent.
• The demographic advantage of India in a real sense can be transformed into demographic dividend by imparting right skills to the youth in tune with the current and future skills in demand.

Workforce breakup in India:

• India has a total workforce of about 52 crore out of which 49 per cent are employed in agriculture, however, their contribution is only 15 per cent of the GVA (Gross Value Added). In China only 21 percent of the workforce is employed in agriculture.2 Growth has often been highest insectors that are relatively capital intensive, such as automobiles and pharmaceuticals.
• There is a need to increase the pace of generating good quality jobs to cater to the growing workforce, their rising aspirations and to absorb out-migration of labour from agriculture.
• By some estimates, the Indian economy will need to generate nearly 70 lakh jobs annually to absorb the net addition to the workforce. Considering the shift of labour force from low productivity employment, 80-90 lakh new jobs will be needed in the coming years.

Globalisation effect in market:

• Globalisation, growing domestic market, automation and adoption of new technologies like AI, Robotics and Internet of Things by various segments of the economy have significantly impacted skills in demand.
• Though there has been a significant focus on skill development, the employability of skilled manpower has remained a big challenge. As per India Skills Report 2019, the employability of final year students of ITIs and polytechnic has declined in recent years and Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) and IT courses have the highest employability rates.
• Lack of focus on industry linkages and core employable skills were the main reasons for the downturn in employability. This is corroborated by the fact that engineering courses which are linked with industries or corporates have higher employability rates.
• The report also revealed that around 43 per cent of engineers from various institutes across the country had remained unemployed. In such a situation, skill development needs to be more comprehensive by including industry alliances for internship and employable skills within its ambit.

Labour Force Participation Rate:

• Aim of any skill development programme is to reduce unemployment and make a higher percent of population economically active.
• Labour Force Participation Rate is one of the key indicators, which explains the conditions of labour market and the extent of population that is economically active.
• The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is defined as the percentage of persons in the labour force among the persons in the population. LFPR for the persons 15 years or above was nearly 49.8 per cent.
• The LFPR for persons of age 15-29 years was 38.2 per cent in 2017-18. LFPR had declined over the years by 5-6 per cent from 2011-12 to 2017-18. Workforce including the persons who worked for a relatively long part of a year constituted around 34.7 per cent in the year 2017-18.
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in India had also decreased from around 42.3 per cent in 1977-78 to 34.7 per cent in 2017-18. WPR during 2017-18 for the persons of age 15-29 years was 31.4 per cent.
• Sector-wise employment status as per the NSSO survey reveals that there has been reduction in persons engaged in agriculture. The proportion of rural male workers engaged in agricultural activities fell from 59.4 per cent in 2011-12 to 55 per cent during 2017-18.

Proportion of workers:

• The proportion of workers in rural areas engaged in manufacturing sector, trade, hotel and restaurant, transport, storage and communication has increased as per the NSSO’s latest report.
• With the advent of government focus on infra-sector, there has been structural shift of employment from agriculture to non-farm sector like construction, trade and transport.
• In addition to this, introduction of advanced automation technology has given boost to growth of information technology and business process outsourcing sectors.
• These sectors are expected to provide employment to many trained youth provided that they acquire the skills to meet the changing needs.
• Supply of appropriately skilled manpower is a necessary condition for reducing unemployment, meeting the aspirations of youth, increasing productivity and remuneration. On the skill development front, the mismatch between demand and supply of skilled labour is one of the causes for increasing Unemployment Rates among youth.
• NSSO defined technical education as a degree in engineering, medicine, agriculture, etc., or a diploma/certificate in agriculture, engineering/ technology, medicine, craft, etc. In India around 97.30 per cent of persons of age 15 years and above had no technical education and around 2 percent of persons of age 15-59 years had received formal vocational training. The percent of persons of age 15-59, who received non-formal vocation training were 6.1per cent.
• This implies that around 8.1per cent of persons aged 15-59 had received vocational training by the year 2017-18. In terms of sector specific vocational training, the NSSO report has mentioned that a higher percentage of persons of age 15-59 had received vocational training in IT-ITES, beauty and wellness, textiles and handlooms, healthcare and life sciences, etc.

Way forward:

• As per NITI Aayog’s report, strategy for New India@75, skill development plans and strategies should be developed by geography and sector by mapping the availability of infrastructure and on the basis of assessing skill requirements both at the national and state levels. Talukas/districts should be required to provide the information required for such mapping.
• In addition to this, Panchayat should be a geographical entity to mobilise rural youth for skill development and training programmes in a formal manner and Panchayat office should maintain a database on skill requirements after counselling rural youth. Employment and skill counselling centres should be established in each Panchayat. If possible, the Government should establish skill training centres at the Panchayat level in PPP mode on a long-term basis.
• It should be made compulsory for Industry stakeholders to publish their vacancy details through the National Career Centres with some incentives given to industries, which are hiring trainees of flagship schemes like PMKVY and DDU-GKY.
• Training capacities of trainers in training institutes need to be upgraded to ensure the availability of qualified trainers. Trainers training centres should be established in each of the districts of India. The training centres in addition to providing training should conduct training to upgrade the training skills of trainers. The training centres for trainers should have labs equipped with advanced tools and technology.
• Trainers training should include a relevant industry exposure component in the course work. Master trainers may be selected from reputed industries to train the trainers.
• MSDE should have a single regulatory body with branches in all states to lay down minimum standards for all players in the skilling system like training providers, assessors, etc., and to issue NSQF aligned certificates.
• Centralised MIS should be there to provide information on skill development on all types of short-term training programmes implemented by various departments, ministries, institutes and other organisations.
• MSDE should issue guidelines to the TSPs regarding training centre locations and selection of job roles through state level officials and TSP should obtain clearance from labour department prior to starting the training programmes. More emphasis should be given to link the labour department with skill development missions at the state/district level. The Labour department should generate demand for skilled manpower and coordinate accordingly with the skill development functionaries.
• NITI Aayog’s report, Strategy for New lndia@75 states that to address the requirement of skilled workers in the unorganised sector, scaling up RPL is required under the PMKVY, using bridge training, apprenticeship, dual training, work-based learning and advanced courses. In addition to scaling RPL, there should be a focus on the identification of transferable skills.
• NITI Aayog’s report, Strategy for New lndia@75, also posits that an Overseas Employment Promotion Agency should be set up at the national level under the Ministry of External Affairs, apart from working with the MSDE to train and certify Indian workers keen on overseas employment, in line with international standards.
• Internship in industries is quite important as both the employer and trainee understand each other’s requirements. So, more emphasis should be given on increasing interactions between industry and trainees.

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