1 May 2023

• Labour Day: International Workers Day marks 100 years of the first Indian Labour Day (Madras, 1923). Gig workers and the unorganised sector remain outside basic social security.
• BRICS: Nineteen nations expressed interest in joining. The bloc holds a 24 per cent share of global GDP and plans to move toward a shared currency system.
• Polity: The Supreme Court directed states to register FIRs for hate speech without waiting for a complaint.
• Geography: Nineteen thousand new seamounts were mapped from high-resolution satellite data.
• Culture: Lesser flamingos returned to Pulicat Lake after a six-year absence.

GS area: Economy, Social justice

International Workers Day is observed on 1 May every year. The first Labour Day in India was held on 1 May 1923 in Madras. The occasion this year brought renewed attention to workers in the gig and unorganised economy.

• Scale of informality: About 93 per cent of India's workforce is in the unorganised sector and lacks formal social security coverage.
• Gig workers: NITI Aayog estimates India will have 23.5 million gig workers by 2029. These workers currently lack minimum wage protection, overtime pay and medical leave.
• Code on Social Security 2020: Mandates employer contributions of 1 to 2 per cent to a welfare fund for gig and platform workers. It gives gig workers their first statutory definition in Indian law.
• Gap: The Code classifies gig workers as self-employed. That keeps them outside minimum-wage and job-security protections even after the statutory definition.
• Rajasthan Platform-based Gig Workers Bill 2023: Proposes a welfare board for platform workers. Addresses harsh conditions and lack of social security recognition at the state level.
• Supreme Court petition: A pending petition seeks classification of gig workers as "unorganised workers" under the existing framework.

A Ludhiana sewer-cleaning tragedy in April killed eight workers. Hydrogen sulphide exposure caused the deaths. The neurotoxin is fatal at high concentrations and is a recurring hazard in manual scavenging.

Static linkage: Labour codes, informal economy (Economics).

GS area: International Relations

Nineteen countries expressed interest in joining BRICS in 2023, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Algeria, Egypt, Bahrain and Iran. South Africa holds the 2023 chairmanship.

• Current bloc: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
• Share of global economy: 24 per cent of global GDP; 41 per cent of global population; 16 per cent of global trade.
• 2028 projection: The bloc is expected to comprise 35 per cent of the global economy if expansion proceeds.
• De-dollarisation push: The bloc is planning a shared currency system to reduce dependence on the US dollar in trade settlement.

The expansion debate turns on the bloc's coherence. Current members have sharply divergent interests. A larger bloc may dilute consensus rather than amplify it.

Static linkage: International groupings, India's foreign policy (International Relations).

GS area: Economy (Science and Technology)

The Department of Science and Technology released the National Manufacturing Innovation Survey 2021-22 in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation.

• Innovation rate: About 25 per cent of Indian manufacturing firms demonstrate some form of innovation.
• Finance barrier: Around 40 per cent of firms face external finance barriers to innovation.
• Top innovating state: Karnataka leads. Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Telangana and Tamil Nadu follow.
• Lowest innovation states: North-eastern states, Bihar, Assam and Jharkhand.
• Framework: The survey uses the Triple-Helix model that maps the interaction between universities, research institutions, firms and government.

The finance barrier figure is the most examiner-friendly number here. Innovation ecosystems do not emerge from firms alone. The public R&D budget and university-industry linkage decide the shape of the curve.

Static linkage: Industrial policy, science and technology (Economy).

GS area: Polity (Judiciary, Fundamental Rights)

The Supreme Court directed all state governments to register FIRs against hate speech without waiting for a formal complaint. The order places a proactive duty on the state.

• Legal gap: Indian law has no definition of hate speech. The closest provisions are:
• IPC Section 153A: Promotes enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language and so on.
• IPC Section 153B: Imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration.
• IPC Section 298: Uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings.
• Law Commission proposal: Recommended Sections 153C and 505A to address hate speech explicitly. Neither has been enacted.
• Trend: NCRB data shows hate speech cases rose from 323 in 2014 to 1,804 in 2020.

The definitional gap is the structural problem. Without a clear definition, enforcement is uneven and open to selective use.

Static linkage: Fundamental Rights, IPC, role of courts (Polity).

GS area: Geography (Geophysical phenomena, Biodiversity)

Scientists mapped 19,325 new seamounts using high-resolution satellite bathymetry data. The previous 2011 census had identified about 24,000 seamounts.

• What a seamount is: An underwater mountain formed through volcanic activity. Seamounts do not breach the ocean surface.
• Biodiversity role: Seamounts support diverse marine life. Cold, nutrient-rich currents upwell around them. They are hotspots for corals, fish and invertebrates.
• Emperor Seamounts: A notable chain in the Pacific Ocean, running northwest from the Hawaiian Ridge.
• India-France contribution: The SARAL satellite, a joint India-France mission, contributed data that expanded the catalogued count.

Static linkage: Oceanography, biodiversity hotspots (Geography).

GS area: Governance (Urban development, Schemes)

The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 is a five-year programme (2021 to 2025) focused on providing tap water with guaranteed supply to urban households.

• Bharat Tap: A star-rating system for water fixtures at 3, 4 and 5 stars. Low-flow fittings are the target.
• Water savings estimate: Around 40 per cent water savings through low-flow sanitary ware.
• Partner: Implemented in collaboration with the Indian Plumbing Association.

Static linkage: Urban governance, centrally sponsored schemes (Polity/Economy).

• Thrissur Pooram: Held at Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur, Kerala. Initiated by Raja Rama Varma (1790-1805). Ten temples participate. Features elephant processions, kodiyettam (flag hoisting) and fireworks. Muslims and Christians also participate. The festival falls on the Pooram star day in the Malayalam month Medam.
• Pulicat Lake flamingos: Pulicat is the second-largest brackish lagoon in India, lying in Andhra Pradesh. Lesser flamingos are the smallest flamingo species. IUCN status: Near Threatened. CITES Appendix II.
• Shramavahini (Odisha): A network of over 4,000 former bonded labourers using smartphones to alert authorities to distressed migrant workers.