22 December 2023

• Child labour: A Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended uniform definitions of "child" across all laws and elimination of child labour by 2025, the SDG 8.7 deadline.
• FAME-II: A parliamentary committee recommended extending the EV subsidy scheme and restoring incentives on electric two-wheelers.
• Wildlife: Namdapha Flying Squirrel, unseen for 42 years, was rediscovered in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Maldives: The new government terminated Maldives' hydrographic survey agreement with India and pressed for withdrawal of Indian military personnel.

GS area: Social Justice, Governance

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles, and Skill Development issued recommendations on child labour:

• SDG target: Eliminate child labour by 2025 (SDG 8.7).
• India's numbers: 2.1 million child labourers in Uttar Pradesh alone. UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh together account for 55 per cent of India's working children. Agriculture employs 70 per cent of child labourers.
• Legal age inconsistency: The RTE Act defines "child" as 6 to 14 years. The JJ Act 2015 defines "child" as any person below 18 years. The ILO sets 15 as the minimum working age (light work from 13). The committee recommended a uniform definition.
• Recommendations: District-level rehabilitation funds, stricter punishments including licence cancellation for employers of child labour, a national child tracking mechanism, and child-friendly police stations.
• Constitutional anchors: Article 24 prohibits employment of children below 14 in hazardous occupations. Article 39 directs the state to ensure children are not forced into unsuitable employment.

Static linkage: Social justice, child rights, constitutional provisions.

GS area: Economy, Environment

A Parliamentary Committee recommended extending the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles Phase II (FAME-II) scheme:

• FAME-II: Launched in 2019 to accelerate EV adoption through purchase subsidies. It covered electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, buses, and four-wheelers (commercial only).
• Committee recommendation: Extend the scheme for three more years. Restore subsidies on electric two-wheelers (which were reduced after fraud cases). Include private electric four-wheelers with cost and battery capacity caps. Create incentives for individual and SHG-run charging stations.
• Context: India's EV sector showed rapid growth in electric two-wheelers but charging infrastructure remains sparse.
• New scheme: FAME-III was being planned by 2024 following the committee's recommendations.

Static linkage: Energy policy, EV sector, electric mobility.

GS area: Environment, Ecology

The Namdapha Flying Squirrel was rediscovered in Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh after 42 years:

• Last documented sighting: 1981.
• IUCN status: Critically Endangered.
• Schedule II: Listed under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (now the Wild Life Protection Act).
• Namdapha National Park: Located in Changlang district, Arunachal Pradesh. A globally significant biodiversity hotspot covering 1,985 square kilometres. Listed as one of the 25 "most wanted lost" species globally by conservation organisations.
• Significance: Flying squirrels glide between forest trees. Their presence indicates intact high-canopy forest. The rediscovery suggests Namdapha's forest remained sufficiently undisturbed.

Static linkage: Biodiversity, northeastern India, wildlife protection.

GS area: International Relations

The new Maldivian government under President Mohamed Muizzu terminated the hydrographic survey agreement with India:

• Hydrographic survey agreement: Signed in June 2019. It gave India access to conduct hydrographic surveys of Maldivian waters, providing data critical for maritime navigation and defence.
• Military withdrawal: Muizzu requested the withdrawal of Indian military personnel stationed in Maldives to operate the two maritime reconnaissance aircraft gifted by India.
• "India Out" campaign: Muizzu's party had run on an anti-India platform during the election campaign.
• Strategic context: China has been increasing its engagement with Maldives. India views Maldives as critical to the maritime security architecture of the Indian Ocean given its position astride key shipping lanes.

Static linkage: India's foreign policy, Indian Ocean, neighbourhood first policy.

GS area: Culture

The Sahitya Akademi Awards 2023 were announced:

• Languages: Awards cover 24 Indian languages.
• Categories: 9 in poetry, 6 in novels, 5 in short stories, 3 in essays, 1 in literary study.
• Prize: Rs 1,00,000 plus a copper plaque and a shawl.
• Sahitya Akademi: India's National Academy of Letters, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture established in 1954. It is distinct from the National Book Awards and regional state literary bodies.

Static linkage: Culture, literature, national institutions.

GS area: Economy, Science and Technology

The Ministry of Mines launched the National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR):

• Purpose: Democratise access to geoscience data accumulated by government agencies over decades.
• Lead agencies: Geological Survey of India (GSI) and BISAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics).
• Policy basis: National Mineral Exploration Policy 2016, which mandated an open data regime to attract private sector exploration investment.
• Significance: Private mining companies need geological maps and survey data to plan exploration. Previously this data was scattered across agencies and difficult to access.

Static linkage: Mineral policy, geology, digital governance.

• RAMP programme sub-schemes: The Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance programme includes MSE GIFT (Green Investment Financing for MSME Transformation) and MSE SPICE (sustainable and circular economy promotion for MSMEs). An online dispute resolution mechanism addresses delayed payments to MSMEs.
• Mithila region development: Bihar CM announced a Rs 72 crore development plan for the Mithila region in north Bihar, which includes Darbhanga, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, and Supaul districts, and is associated with Mithila Madhubani painting and Janakpur.