5 October 2024

• Health expenditure: National Health Account estimates showed government health spending rose from 1.13 per cent of GDP (2014-15) to 1.84 per cent (2021-22). Out-of-pocket spending fell sharply.
• Employment: A new analysis covering 2016-23 found India added roughly 17 million jobs, with youth unemployment falling from 17.8 per cent to 10 per cent.
• Security: A major anti-Naxal operation in Bastar resulted in 28 Naxalites killed. The Naxal movement's geographic and ideological roots were revisited.
• Innovation: The PM Internship Scheme opened applications and Assam launched the first 39 Co-Districts as a new layer of administrative decentralisation.

GS area: Governance, Health (Social Sector)

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released National Health Account (NHA) estimates for 2020-21 and 2021-22, which are the official framework for measuring how India's health system is financed.

• Government health expenditure as a share of GDP: Rose from 1.13 per cent in 2014-15 to 1.84 per cent in 2021-22. The increase reflects enhanced allocations to Ayushman Bharat and state health missions.
• Out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE): Fell from 62.6 per cent of total health spending (2014-15) to 39.4 per cent (2021-22). Out-of-pocket spending is the share borne by households directly at the point of service. Its reduction is a key indicator of health system effectiveness.
• Per capita government health spending: Rose from 1,108 rupees to 3,169 rupees over the same period.
• Total health expenditure: 9,04,461 crore rupees, equal to 3.83 per cent of GDP, in 2021-22.
• Why OOPE matters for prelims: High out-of-pocket spending is a leading cause of catastrophic health expenditure, which in turn drives households into poverty. The OECD, WHO, and the Economic Survey all track this indicator.

Static linkage: Health financing, Ayushman Bharat (Governance and Social Policy).

GS area: Economy (Employment)

An analysis of labour market data found that India's employment grew by 36 per cent between 2016-17 and 2022-23, adding approximately 17 million jobs.

• Youth unemployment: Fell from 17.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 10 per cent in 2022-23. Youth unemployment in India covers those between 15 and 29 years.
• Employment elasticity: A 1 per cent increase in real GDP generated a 1.11 per cent rise in employment during this period. An elasticity above 1 means employment grows faster than output, which is unusual and suggests the growth was labour-intensive.
• Unemployment rate (overall): Fell to 3.2 per cent in 2022-23.
• Caveat: India's low headline unemployment rate is partly a function of widespread informality and subsistence self-employment rather than productive formal jobs.

Static linkage: Labour market indicators, PLFS data (Economy).

GS area: Internal Security

A major operation in the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh resulted in 28 Naxalites killed. The central government has intensified operations in the Red Corridor.

• Origins: The Naxal movement began in Naxalbari village in West Bengal in 1967 as a peasant uprising inspired by Maoist ideology. It spread to other states over the following decades.
• The Red Corridor: A contiguous belt of districts across Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and parts of Bihar and West Bengal where Naxal presence has historically been highest.
• Root causes: Tribal land alienation, absence of state services, displacement from forest-based livelihoods, and prolonged poverty create conditions that sustain the movement.
• Government response: Operation Green Hunt (2009-10) was the first major military phase. The Aspirational Districts Programme covers many districts in the corridor. The Forest Rights Act of 2006 was intended to address land and livelihood grievances.
• Current trajectory: The Red Corridor has shrunk significantly. Government data shows Naxal-affected districts fell from 126 in 2010 to under 40 in 2024.

Static linkage: Internal security, tribal rights, left-wing extremism (Security and Polity).

GS area: Governance (Decentralisation)

Assam launched 39 Co-Districts in its first phase, introducing a new sub-district administrative unit.

• Who heads them: Each Co-District is led by an Assistant District Commissioner, a rank below the Deputy Commissioner who heads a full district.
• Purpose: To bring administrative services closer to remote communities in geographically large districts, reducing travel distances for citizens who need certificate issuance, land records, and revenue services.
• Relationship to existing structure: Co-Districts sit below districts but above revenue circles. They are an administrative rather than a constitutional creation.

Static linkage: Decentralisation, administrative structure of India (Governance).

GS area: International Relations, Economy

India and the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding on critical minerals supply chain cooperation.

• Strategic purpose: To reduce dependence on China, which dominates the processing and refining of most critical minerals including lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements. China controls over 80 per cent of rare earth processing globally.
• Critical minerals: These are materials essential for clean energy technologies (EV batteries, wind turbines, solar panels), defence systems, and semiconductor manufacturing. Their supply concentration in a few countries creates strategic risk.
• India's position: India has significant deposits of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths but limited domestic processing capacity. The MoU aims to develop processing infrastructure with US technical and financial support.

Static linkage: Critical minerals, clean energy transition, supply chain resilience (Economy and International Relations).

GS area: Environment (Wildlife)

India announced a new elephant population estimation methodology using genetic mark-recapture analysis from DNA extracted from dung samples.

• Why the method change: Traditional camera trap surveys undercount elephants because they move in dense forests and camera grids miss many individuals. DNA from dung samples can identify individual elephants uniquely and allows scientists to estimate total population even from partial sampling.
• Current elephant population: India has the world's largest population of Asian elephants. The 2017 census estimated approximately 27,312 elephants.
• Asian Elephant status: Listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Static linkage: Wildlife enumeration methods, elephant conservation, Project Elephant (Environment).

• Modified Eco-mark Scheme: The Bureau of Indian Standards revised the Eco-mark scheme in 2024 to align it with the Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) mission. The Eco-mark certifies products that meet environmental standards in manufacturing and disposal. The Central Pollution Control Board and BIS jointly oversee it.
• International Medical Device Regulators Forum (IMDRF): India became an affiliate member. The IMDRF was established in 2011 to harmonise international medical device regulations. India's membership supports its pharmaceutical and device export ambitions.