23 February 2024

• Gender: Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the armed forces' rules penalising women for marriage. Female labour force participation in India is 23-24 per cent, against a global average of 51 per cent.
• Polity: Delhi High Court ruled that the right to adopt a child is NOT a fundamental right; it flows from statute under the JJ Act 2015.
• Tribal rights: The Shompen tribe on Great Nicobar Island faces risk from a 9 billion dollar development plan targeting 650,000 new settlers.
• Space: ISRO completed human-rating of the CE20 cryogenic engine for the Gaganyaan mission.

GS area: Social Justice, Polity (Constitutional Rights, Gender)

The Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the armed forces' service rules that discharged women personnel for getting married. The case involved Selina John, a former Military Nursing Service officer who was discharged from service for marrying while in service. The Court awarded 60 lakh rupees in compensation.

Broader gender data:

• Female LFPR in India: 23-24 per cent, a significant decline from approximately 30 per cent in 2004-05. The global average is 51 per cent; men's LFPR globally is 80 per cent.
• Gender wage gap: Men earn approximately 82 per cent of total labour income globally; women earn approximately 18 per cent.
• Unpaid work burden: Women in India spend over 7 hours daily on unpaid domestic and care work.
• GDP potential: The IMF estimates that equalising female participation in India's labour force could add approximately 27 per cent to GDP.
• Related schemes: Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, One Stop Centre, SWADHAR Greh, Nari Shakti Puraskar, NIRBHAYA Fund, National Commission for Women (NCW).

Static linkage: Social Justice (gender equality, labour force, armed forces), Polity (fundamental rights, service conditions).

GS area: Polity (Constitutional Rights, Child Rights)

The Delhi High Court ruled that the right to adopt is NOT a fundamental right under the Constitution.

• Ruling: Adoption is a statutory right governed by the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 and the adoption regulations framed by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). The court found that prioritising adoption of children with special needs and delayed proceedings are a result of policy choices, not violations of fundamental rights.
• Article 21 angle: The court acknowledged that the right to family (covered within Article 21's right to life with dignity) has been recognised, but this does not extend to an absolute right to adopt any specific child.
• CARA: India's nodal body for adoption, under the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Regulates both domestic and inter-country adoptions.
• JJ Act 2015: Provides for adoption of orphaned, abandoned, and surrendered children through a court-ordered process. Gives priority to Indian adoptive parents and children with special needs.

Static linkage: Polity (fundamental rights, Article 21), Social Justice (child rights, adoption, CARA, JJ Act 2015).

GS area: Social Justice (Tribal Rights, PVTG), Environment

The proposed 9 billion US dollar development project for Great Nicobar Island raised concerns about the survival of the Shompen tribe.

• Shompen: A Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) inhabiting the interior of Great Nicobar Island, the southernmost and largest of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Population: estimated 200 to 300 people.
• First contact: Outsiders first contacted the Shompen in the 1840s. They are primarily hunter-gatherers who also practise limited cultivation of yams and root vegetables.
• Development plan: The project targets 650,000 new settlers, transshipment ports, a military base, tourism infrastructure, and an airport on Great Nicobar Island.
• Threat: Introduction of over 6 lakh people into a previously isolated ecosystem could expose the Shompen to diseases to which they have no immunity. Cultural extinction is a real risk.
• Constitutional protection: Scheduled Tribes in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have special protections under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation 1956.
• Ecological concern: Great Nicobar is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Its forests, coastal mangroves, and leatherback sea turtle nesting beaches would be affected.

Static linkage: Social Justice (PVTG, tribal rights), Environment (island ecosystems, UNESCO Biosphere Reserve).

GS area: Science and Technology (Space)

ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) completed human-rating of the CE20 cryogenic engine, a key milestone for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission.

• CE20: A cryogenic engine using liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2) as propellants. Uses a gas-generator cycle. It is India's most powerful cryogenic engine, producing 20 tonnes of thrust.
• Human-rating: The process of verifying that an engine (and by extension, a rocket) meets the higher reliability and safety standards required for carrying human passengers. Human-rated systems have lower acceptable failure probability than uncrewed launches.
• Gaganyaan mission: India's first human spaceflight programme.
  • Crew: 3 Indian astronauts (called Vyomanauts).
  • Orbit altitude: 400 km.
  • Duration: 3 days.
  • Launch vehicle: LVM3 (GSLV-Mk III) with human-rated CE20 upper stage.
• LPSC: Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, based in Valiamala near Thiruvananthapuram. Designs and develops liquid and cryogenic propulsion systems for ISRO.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (ISRO, Gaganyaan, cryogenic propulsion, human spaceflight).

GS area: Economy (FDI Policy, Space Economy)

The Union Cabinet approved amendments to the FDI policy for the space sector:

• Satellite manufacturing and operation: Up to 74 per cent FDI through the automatic route (no government approval needed up to this threshold).
• Launch vehicles and spaceport operations: Up to 49 per cent automatic.
• Component and sub-system manufacturing: Up to 100 per cent automatic.
• Beyond these limits: Government approval route is required.
• Why it matters: India's space economy is projected to grow from approximately 8 billion to 44 billion US dollars by 2033. Private sector participation (IN-SPACe registered companies) needs foreign investment to scale.
• IN-SPACe: Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, set up in 2020 to regulate and promote private sector space activities.

Static linkage: Economy (FDI policy, space sector, IN-SPACe, private space), Science and Technology (space industry).

GS area: Disaster Management, Governance

The FMBAP is a centrally sponsored scheme running from 2021-22 to 2025-26 with a total outlay of 4,100 crore rupees. It has two components:

• Flood Management Programme (FMP): Funds state governments for flood control, anti-erosion works, drainage development, and sea erosion prevention. Funding ratio: 90:10 (Centre:State) for Special Category States; 60:40 for others.
• River Management and Border Areas (RMBA): 100 per cent centrally funded. Covers management of border rivers with neighbouring countries and flood forecasting. India shares rivers with Bangladesh, Nepal, China, and Pakistan, making transboundary flood management a foreign policy issue as well.

Static linkage: Disaster Management (flood control, border rivers, transboundary water), Governance (centrally sponsored schemes).