18 August 2023

• Environment: Himalayan regions are experiencing more rainfall and less snowfall due to rising temperatures, increasing flash floods and glacial lake outburst flood risk.
• Schemes: Lakhpati Didi scheme targets two crore women from SHGs to earn 1 lakh rupees annually through skill training.
• Economy: Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) data showed only 6 lakh enrolments against targets, with 42 per cent disbursement utilisation.
• Governance: The Minamata Convention on mercury control marked its sixth anniversary. India ratified the convention.

GS area: Environment, Geography (climate change)

Scientists confirmed that mountain ranges globally, including the Himalayas, are experiencing a shift from snowfall to rainfall at higher elevations.

• Cause: Rising temperatures elevate the freezing level. Rain now falls where snow used to. Increased atmospheric moisture from warming also intensifies precipitation.
• Flash flood risk: Rainfall runs off rapidly from mountain slopes, creating sudden and intense floods. Snowfall, by contrast, stores water and releases it gradually through melt.
• Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs): Glacial retreat creates lakes dammed by ice or moraine. Rainfall can destabilise these dams. When they burst, the resulting floods are catastrophic. GLOFs in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have killed hundreds in recent years.
• IPCC 2019 Cryosphere Report: Documented that mountain glaciers are losing mass at accelerating rates globally. The Himalayas have lost about 40 per cent of their glacier area since the Little Ice Age.
• Water security: About 1.9 billion people downstream of the Himalayas depend on glacier and snowmelt-fed rivers for dry-season water supply.

Static linkage: Climate change impacts, disaster management, water resources (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Governance, Social Justice, Economy

The government formally expanded the Lakhpati Didi initiative. It targets creating two crore women with a minimum annual income of 1 lakh rupees through Self-Help Group (SHG) networks.

• Target skills: Plumbing, LED bulb making, drone operation and repair, and other technical trades.
• SHG network: India has approximately 12 million SHGs. About 88 per cent of these are all-women groups. SHGs collectively mobilise savings, provide micro-credit, and link members to government programmes.
• Kudumbashree (Kerala): A 25-year-old women's collective in Kerala. It is a public-private partnership between the state government and community collectives. It serves as a model for large-scale SHG-based development.
• Financial inclusion: Women SHG members are typically included in the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. Digital payment adoption through SHGs supports financial inclusion.
• Lakhpati threshold: A "lakhpati" is a household earning 1 lakh rupees or more annually. Many rural households fall below this level. The scheme targets training and linkages to cross the threshold.

Static linkage: SHGs, women empowerment, rural economy (GS Paper 2).

GS area: Economy, Labour

The Ministry of Labour data on ABRY performance for 2020-2023 showed significant shortfalls.

• ABRY objective: To incentivise new employment during and after the COVID-19 pandemic by subsidising employer and employee contributions to EPFO.
• Eligibility: Employees earning under 15,000 rupees per month, hired between October 2020 and March 2022.
• Subsidy: For establishments with under 1,000 employees: government pays both the employer and employee EPFO contributions (24 per cent of wages) for two years. For larger establishments: government pays only the employee's 12 per cent contribution.
• Performance: Only approximately 6 lakh enrolments against the scheme's targets. Disbursement utilisation was 42 per cent.
• Geographic concentration: Benefits concentrated in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Karnataka. Less industrialised states saw minimal uptake.
• EPFO: The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation. Manages provident fund, pension, and insurance for organised sector workers.

Static linkage: Labour welfare, social security, schemes (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Governance, Technology

The Department of Telecommunications' Sanchar Saathi Portal was highlighted for its action against SIM fraud.

• Actions taken: Over 67,000 SIM dealers blacklisted. Fines of up to 10 lakh rupees imposed for complicity in fraudulent SIM issuance.
• Problem: Fraudsters obtain SIM cards in bulk using KYC (Know Your Customer) documents of unsuspecting individuals. These are used for cybercrime, financial fraud, and narco-trafficking.
• Portal features: Citizens can report suspected fraud SIMs, check registered SIMs against their ID, and block lost or stolen SIMs.
• TRAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India coordinates with the Department of Telecommunications on SIM card regulations.

Static linkage: Cybersecurity, telecommunications governance (GS Paper 2).

GS area: Environment (international conventions)

The Minamata Convention on Mercury marked its sixth anniversary. It entered into force on 16 August 2017.

• Minamata Convention: Named after Minamata, Japan where mercury poisoning in the 1950s and 1960s caused severe neurological damage to thousands of people. It is the global treaty to protect human health and the environment from mercury.
• Key obligations: Phase-out of mercury-added products, reduction of mercury use in artisanal gold mining, controls on mercury emissions and releases.
• Mercury toxicity: Mercury affects the nervous system, thyroid gland, and kidneys. Methylmercury, the organic form, bioaccumulates in fish and marine mammals.
• India's ratification: India ratified the Minamata Convention. India uses mercury in chlor-alkali plants and fluorescent lamps. Phase-out timelines are being worked out.
• Related convention: The Stockholm Convention addresses persistent organic pollutants. The Minamata Convention is the corresponding instrument for mercury as a heavy metal.

Static linkage: International environmental conventions, pollution control (GS Paper 3).

• New salamander species: Tylototriton zaimeng, a new salamander species, was found in the mountain lakes of Manipur. It is distinct in its head structure and sagittal ridge. Recommended for IUCN Red List vulnerable status.
• FloodWatch App: The Central Water Commission's FloodWatch App provides colour-coded 24-hour flood risk forecasts (green, yellow, orange, red) and 7-day advisories based on satellite data and mathematical modelling.
• Lake Titicaca: The world's highest navigable lake, on the Bolivia-Peru border. Birthplace of the Inca civilisation in Andean mythology. In August 2023 it recorded near-record low water levels due to climate-change-driven reduced rainfall.