GS area: International Relations, Social Issues, Governance
A fire in a residential building in Mangaf, Kuwait killed 49 Indian workers on 12 June 2024. The workers were employed by a private construction firm. The tragedy highlighted systemic vulnerabilities of Indian labour in the Gulf.
Scale of Indian labour in GCC: 8.88 million Indian workers are employed in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman). This is approximately 30 per cent of the total expatriate workforce in the GCC.
Worker profile: 70 per cent are blue-collar workers in construction, hospitality, domestic service and manufacturing. They are concentrated in low-wage, high-risk jobs.
Kafala system: the sponsorship system governing migrant labour in most GCC countries. Under Kafala, a worker's visa and residency is tied to their employer-sponsor. Workers cannot change employers without the employer's permission, trapping them in abusive situations.
Remittances: India received 125 billion US dollars in remittances in 2023, the highest of any country globally. Gulf countries are the single largest source.
Government framework: the Emigration Act 1983 governs the emigration of Indian workers to Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries. Most GCC nations are ECR countries. Workers from ECR passport categories need clearance before emigrating for certain categories of jobs.
E-Migrate system: the Ministry of External Affairs' online portal for workers going to ECR countries. Employers abroad must register on E-Migrate. The system reduces exploitation by verifying employment contracts.
Indian Community Welfare Fund: maintained at Indian missions in GCC countries. Provides emergency assistance to distressed workers, including repatriation costs, medical aid and legal help.
Surakshit Jaaye Prasikshit Jaaye: a pre-departure orientation programme that trains workers on their rights, emergency contacts and safe working practices before they leave India.
The Kafala system is the structural reason why 49 workers could be sleeping in an illegally overcrowded building. Changing it requires sustained bilateral diplomacy with GCC governments.
Static linkage: international relations, governance, social issues.
2. G7: technology democratisation and India-Italy ties
GS area: International Relations, Economy
PM Modi's G7 participation produced concrete bilateral outcomes with Italy.
Italy-India Strategic Partnership: announced at the margins of the G7. Focus areas: clean energy, manufacturing, space, AI, critical minerals.
Industrial Property Rights MoU: signed during the G7 bilateral. It enhances cooperation on patents, trademarks and geographical indications between India and Italy.
Bilateral trade: approximately 15 billion US dollars. Italy is India's fourth-largest EU trading partner.
Startup Bridge (2023): connects Indian and Italian startup ecosystems for investment and collaboration.
Migration and Mobility Agreement (2023): facilitates movement of professionals and students.
Technology democratisation argument: PM Modi at G7 argued that technology monopolies must be broken to build an inclusive society. India's UPI and India Stack were cited as models of digital public infrastructure accessible to all income groups.
India Stack: the suite of open APIs and protocols (Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, CoWIN) that form India's digital public infrastructure. It has been adopted or studied by over 50 countries.
Static linkage: international relations, economy.
3. BBMP solid waste cess: urban governance
GS area: Governance, Environment
Bengaluru's Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike proposed a 100-rupee monthly household cess for solid waste management.
Solid Waste Management Rules 2016: these rules under the Environment Protection Act authorise urban local bodies to levy user fees for solid waste collection and management. The BBMP cess is authorised under these rules.
Urban waste situation: India collects approximately 95 per cent of its solid waste daily. Only 50 per cent of collected waste is treated or processed. The rest goes to landfills.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): manufacturers are required to manage the waste from their products (especially plastics and e-waste) at end of life. Urban local bodies coordinate with EPR-registered producers.
Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban): aims to make urban India open-defecation free, improve solid waste management, and build a robust waste processing infrastructure. SBM-U 2.0 focuses on waste processing capacity.
Bengaluru's waste challenge: the city generates approximately 5,000 tonnes of solid waste daily. Its landfills are overflowing. The cess is intended to fund alternative processing (biogas plants, composting).
Static linkage: governance, environment.
4. E-Flow Ecological Monitoring System
GS area: Environment, Governance
The Union Ministry of Jal Shakti launched the E-Flow Ecological Monitoring System for real-time river flow monitoring across the Ganga and Yamuna systems.
Environmental flow (E-Flow): the minimum flow of water that must be maintained in a river to preserve its ecological health and support aquatic life. Below this threshold, river ecosystems collapse.
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG): the body that operates the E-Flow monitoring system. NMCG functions under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Ganga rejuvenation: the Namami Gange programme is India's flagship river restoration effort. Budget: 20,000 crore rupees. It covers sewage treatment plants, ghat development, industrial effluent control and biodiversity conservation.
Real-time sensors: the E-Flow system uses embedded sensors at critical points along the Ganga and Yamuna to transmit water flow data continuously. Alerts are generated when flow falls below the mandated E-Flow threshold.
Farakka Barrage: on the Ganga near the India-Bangladesh border, it controls Ganga flows into the Hooghly. Downstream environmental flows and the Ganga-Padma system in Bangladesh are sensitive to its operations.
Static linkage: environment, governance.
5. Bioluminescence: marine biology fact
GS area: Science and Technology, Environment
Bioluminescence remained in news following research on its evolutionary origins.
Bioluminescence: the ability of living organisms to produce and emit light through chemical reactions. It is found in marine organisms (anglerfish, dinoflagellates, jellyfish, certain squid), some insects (fireflies), and certain fungi.
Mechanism: the reaction involves luciferin (a light-emitting compound) and luciferase (an enzyme that catalyses the reaction). Oxygen is required.
Evolutionary origin: traced to the Cambrian Explosion (approximately 540 million years ago). A new study in 2024 found bioluminescence evolved independently at least 94 times across the tree of life.
Functions: camouflage (counter-illumination in the deep sea to match downwelling light), prey attraction (anglerfish), communication (firefly mating signals), and predator deterrence.
Marine applications: bioluminescent markers are used in biomedical research to track gene expression and observe cellular processes in real time.
Static linkage: science and technology, environment.
6. Tarang Shakti 2024: air exercise
GS area: Science and Technology, International Relations, Security
India announced Tarang Shakti 2024, its first-ever multinational air exercise, to be held in August 2024.
Participating nations: Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, UAE, United Kingdom and United States. India is the host nation.
Objectives: enhance interoperability between air forces; share tactics, techniques and procedures; build relationships with partner nations.
Two phases: the first phase is in southern India (Sulur Air Force Station, Tamil Nadu); the second phase is in western India (Jodhpur).
Significance: India's first multilateral air exercise of this scale. It signals India's willingness to deepen defence partnerships under the Quad framework and bilateral agreements.
India's air defence partnerships: India has signed logistics agreements (LEMOA with US, MLSA with Australia, ACSA with Japan) that facilitate joint operations.
Static linkage: international relations, security.
Briefly noted
Yashwant Ghadge: recognised at G7 India-Italy discussions. A World War II Indian Army soldier who fought in the Italian campaign (1944). Aged 23, he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Approximately 50,000 Indians served in the Italian campaign with 5,782 casualties.
CoWIN platform: cited by PM Modi at G7 as an example of technology democratisation. CoWIN managed India's COVID-19 vaccination drive, covering over 2.2 billion doses.
Practice MCQs
Check yourself
The Kafala system, under which Indian workers faced vulnerability in Kuwait, is best described as:
Check yourself
India received what amount in remittances in 2023, making it the world's largest recipient?
Check yourself
The E-Flow Ecological Monitoring System launched by the Ministry of Jal Shakti monitors environmental flows in which rivers?
Check yourself
Under which rules are urban local bodies in India authorised to levy user fees for solid waste management?
Check yourself
India Stack, cited as a model of technology democratisation, includes which of the following?