10 July 2024

• Science: Cave painting in Sulawesi, Indonesia dated at 51,200 years, the world's oldest known figurative art.
• Labour: India's unemployment rate rose to 9.2 per cent in June 2024 versus 2 per cent in 2010. Over 42 per cent of graduates under 25 were unemployed.
• International: Russian missile struck Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv. India's position on the Ukraine conflict remained consistent: call for dialogue.
• Law: The Anand Marriage Act allows Sikhs to separately register marriages under the Anand Karaj ceremony.

GS area: World History, Science and Technology

Researchers published findings in the journal Nature confirming that a cave painting in Leang Karampuang cave on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, is at least 51,200 years old. It depicts three human-like figures interacting with a wild pig.

• Dating method: Laser ablation uranium-series dating, which measures the decay of uranium isotopes in calcium carbonate deposits on top of the pigment. This method is more accurate than radiocarbon dating for very old mineral-based samples.
• Significance: Pushes back the known date of figurative art (art showing real-world objects and scenes) by several thousand years. The previous oldest verified figurative art was also in Sulawesi.
• Medium: Dark red iron oxide pigment applied to the cave wall.
• Implications for human cognition: Figurative art requires abstract thinking and symbolic communication. This discovery suggests early modern humans who migrated from Africa to Southeast Asia already possessed advanced cognitive abilities.
• India connection: Ancient rock art sites at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh contain paintings dated to over 30,000 years ago. Bhimbetka is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Static linkage: Prehistoric art, human migration (World History).

GS area: Economy, Social Justice

India's unemployment rate rose to 9.2 per cent in June 2024, compared to 2 per cent in 2010. Graduate unemployment is acutely severe.

• Graduate unemployment: Over 42 per cent of Indians under 25 with degrees were unemployed in 2021-22. Only 47 per cent of graduates were deemed employable by industry in 2019.
• Formal skill training gap: Only 4.7 per cent of India's workforce had received formal skill training as of a 2015 report. The number has grown since but remains far below comparable economies.
• Jobless growth: India's GDP grew at 8.2 per cent in FY2024 but employment did not grow proportionally. Capital-intensive manufacturing and services generate output without absorbing large numbers of workers.
• Structural challenge: India needs to create 10 to 12 million jobs annually to absorb new labour market entrants. The manufacturing sector has not grown fast enough to absorb surplus agricultural labour.
• Key schemes: PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana (skill training), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (apprenticeships in industry), Jan Shikshan Sansthan (non-formal skill training for neo-literates).
• Urban MGNREGA proposal: Scholars have proposed an urban employment guarantee scheme on the lines of MGNREGA for urban informal workers.

Static linkage: Employment (Economy), human capital (Social Justice).

GS area: International Relations, Polity

A Russian missile struck the Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv on 8 July, killing two people and triggering international condemnation.

• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC): Ratified by all UN member states except the United States. Article 38 prohibits direct participation of children in armed conflict.
• Rome Statute: The founding treaty of the International Criminal Court. Recognises the recruitment of child soldiers as a war crime. India has not ratified the Rome Statute.
• UN Monitoring Mechanism: The Secretary-General's annual report on Children and Armed Conflict lists "parties" (state and non-state) that recruit children or attack schools and hospitals. India was removed from this list in 2023 for the first time since 2010.
• Just War Theory: Classical framework with three components. Jus ad bellum (conditions justifying going to war), jus in bello (rules governing conduct during war), and jus post bellum (obligations after war ends). Attacks on hospitals violate jus in bello even under just war theory.

Static linkage: International humanitarian law (IR), children's rights.

GS area: Polity, Social Justice

The Anand Marriage Act 1909 allows Sikhs to register marriages conducted under the Anand Karaj ceremony separately from the Hindu Marriage Act.

• Background: The Anand Karaj is the traditional Sikh marriage ceremony conducted by circumambulation of the Guru Granth Sahib four times. Before the Anand Marriage Act, Sikhs had to register marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act, which some considered religiously inappropriate.
• Amendment (2012): Parliament amended the 1909 Act to include a registration mechanism. Previously the Act only defined the ceremony without providing for registration.
• State implementation: 18 states and UTs are implementing the Act. Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Meghalaya have already notified rules.
• Article 25: Guarantees freedom of religion. The Act operationalises this freedom for Sikhs by providing a legally recognised, religion-specific marriage framework.

Static linkage: Personal laws (Polity), Article 25.

GS area: International Relations, Environment

The Union Cabinet approved India signing the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), often called the High Seas Treaty.

• Scope: The high seas cover about 64 per cent of the ocean's surface. No single nation has jurisdiction there. The BBNJ fills a legal gap by establishing governance for biodiversity protection and resource access in these areas.
• UNCLOS link: The BBNJ Agreement is an implementing agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
• Key provisions: Creation of Marine Protected Areas in the high seas; Environmental Impact Assessments for activities in the high seas; Access and benefit-sharing for genetic resources from the high seas.
• SDG 14: Life below water. The 30x30 goal (protect 30 per cent of the ocean by 2030) cannot be achieved without protecting the high seas.

Static linkage: Ocean law (IR), marine biodiversity (Environment).

• Regenerative braking: Converts a vehicle's kinetic energy into electrical energy stored in the battery during deceleration. Limitation: insufficient alone to bring a vehicle to a complete stop and less effective at low speeds. Standard friction braking supplements it.
• Classical language status: India has six languages with classical language status as of mid-2024: Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia. The government was reviewing revised criteria that could open classical status to more languages including Marathi, Pali, and Prakrit.
• Zombie start-ups: Start-ups that are technically operational but unprofitable and stagnant with no viable path to growth. Koo, the Indian microblogging platform, shut down in 2024 after failing to scale. Defined as a cautionary category in the venture capital ecosystem.