11 May 2023

• Society: UNICEF reported 640 million girls worldwide were married before age 18. India accounts for one-third of the global total.
• Health: A UN report found India bears 17 per cent of global maternal and neonatal deaths.
• Economy: Female labour force participation in India fell from 31 per cent in 2000 to 21 per cent in 2018.
• Nuclear: Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II) completed 25 years on 11 May.
• International: India's strategic convergence with the US, UAE and Saudi Arabia in Riyadh signalled a shift in Gulf policy.

GS area: Society, Social Justice

UNICEF estimated 640 million women alive today were married before age 18. Twelve million girls are married as children annually. Despite a declining global rate (from 21 per cent to 19 per cent), progress is twenty times slower than what SDG 5.3 requires.

• India's share: One-third of the global total. Eight Indian states record prevalence above 40 per cent.
• South Asia: Hosts 45 per cent of the world's child brides. India is the largest contributor.
• "Polycrisis" drivers: Health crises, poverty, armed conflict and climate shocks all reverse progress on child marriage.
• India's legal framework: The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 sets the minimum age at 18 for women and 21 for men. The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2021 proposes raising the age for women to 21. It was referred to a standing committee.
• Targeted schemes:
  • Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: savings scheme for girl children.
  • Kanyashree Prakalpa: conditional cash transfer scheme in West Bengal.
  • Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP): awareness and education drive.
  • Odisha established 12,000 Child Marriage Free Villages.

Static linkage: Child rights, women's rights, social legislation (Society/Polity).

GS area: Economy, Society

India's female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) fell sharply from 31 per cent in 2000 to 21 per cent in 2018.

• GDP loss: McKinsey estimated that a 10 per cent increase in female workforce participation could add 550 billion US dollars to India's GDP.
• Unpaid care burden: Indian women spend 8 times more hours on unpaid care work than men. The global average is 3 times. This is the structural constraint that keeps women out of the labour market.
• Marriage impact: Only 32 per cent of married Indian women are in the workforce.
• Manufacturing gap: Women comprise less than 20 per cent of India's manufacturing workforce.
• Policy tools: Ministry of Skill Development, National Career Service platform, Maternity Benefit Amendment Act 2017 (26 weeks of paid maternity leave), and night shift permissions under Factories Act 1948.

Static linkage: Labour market, gender equality, economic productivity (Economy/Society).

GS area: Society (Health)

A UN report (2023) found that progress on maternal and neonatal health has stalled since 2015.

• Annual deaths globally:
  • Maternal: 290,000.
  • Stillbirths: 1.9 million.
  • Neonatal: 2.3 million.
• India's share: India bears 60 per cent of the global burden in some indicators and accounts for 17 per cent of global maternal and neonatal deaths.
• India's progress: Maternal Mortality Rate improved from 130 to 113 per 100,000 live births between 2014 and 2018.
• Key barriers: Insufficient funding (only 1 in 10 countries is adequately funded), prematurity (India has 2.5 million premature births annually; 1 million are fatal), COVID-19 disruptions and gender inequality.
• WHO targets: 90 per cent antenatal care contacts; skilled attendance at 90 per cent of births; 80 per cent postnatal care within 2 days.

Static linkage: Maternal mortality, NFHS, reproductive health (Society/Governance).

GS area: Science and Technology (Nuclear programme)

India conducted five nuclear tests on 11 and 13 May 1998 at Pokhran, Rajasthan. The operation was code-named Operation Shakti.

• What the tests achieved: India declared itself a nuclear-weapons state. It established a credible minimum deterrence doctrine and a No-First-Use policy.
• International response: Western sanctions followed. The tests changed international perception of India's strategic standing.
• 2008 civil nuclear agreement: The tests were a necessary precursor to the landmark India-US civil nuclear agreement, which ended India's nuclear isolation.
• NFU doctrine: India has committed not to be the first to use nuclear weapons. This remains a pillar of India's nuclear doctrine.

Static linkage: India's nuclear programme, strategic autonomy, science policy (Science and Technology).

GS area: International Relations

A meeting in Riyadh among Indian, US, UAE and Saudi officials signalled a strategic reorientation.

• Historical shift: India's earlier non-aligned posture kept it distant from US-aligned West Asian states. The new convergence reflects changed calculations after China's rising Gulf influence.
• Shared interest: Geopolitical competition with China, regional stability after Saudi-Iran normalisation and Gulf investment flows to India.
• India's strategic gain: India can engage Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iran simultaneously rather than having to choose.
• Challenges: Beijing's rising influence in the Gulf; China's role in the Saudi-Iran normalisation deal.

Static linkage: Neighbourhood and extended neighbourhood, India-US-Gulf relations (International Relations).

• IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework): India has not joined the trade pillar of IPEF. The framework has 14 founding members representing 40 per cent of global GDP and 28 per cent of world trade. India participates in the other three pillars: supply chains, clean economy and fair economy.
• Land Port Authority of India (LPAI): A statutory body under the Land Ports Authority of India Act 2010, under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Nine operational Integrated Check Posts: Attari, Agartala, Petrapole, Raxaul, Jogbani, Moreh, Sutarkandi, Srimantapur and Dera Baba Nanak.