13 November 2024

• Climate: WMO reported 2024 is on track to be the warmest year on record at 1.54°C above pre-industrial levels. Global sea level is rising at 4.77 mm per year.
• Defence: India successfully tested its Long-Range Land Attack Cruise Missile (LRLACM) with a 1,000 km strike range.
• Women: India's gender gap in education has closed. 26 per cent of young women now have college degrees, up from 12 per cent in 2011-12.
• IP: India filed 64,480 patents in 2023, a 15.7 per cent rise, ranking 6th globally.

GS area: Environment, International Relations

The World Meteorological Organisation released its provisional State of Global Climate 2024 report.

• Temperature: 2024 is tracking to be the warmest year in recorded history at 1.54°C above the pre-industrial baseline.
• Sea level rise: Accelerated to 4.77 millimetres per year over the 2014-2023 decade.
• Glaciers: Lost ice equivalent to five times the volume of water in the Dead Sea in 2023 alone.
• Rivers: 2023 was the driest year for global rivers in over 30 years.
• Early warning systems: 108 countries adopted Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems. This is a global target under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
• WMO: World Meteorological Organisation, a UN specialised agency. Headquarters in Geneva.
• Sendai Framework: 2015-2030 global framework for disaster risk reduction.

Static linkage: Climate change, international environmental institutions, disaster management.

GS area: Defence, Science and Technology

India tested its indigenously developed Long-Range Land Attack Cruise Missile.

• Range: 1,000 kilometres. A precision-strike capability.
• Developer: Aeronautical Development Establishment, Bengaluru. Under DRDO.
• Approval: The Defence Acquisition Council approved the programme in July 2020.
• Production partners: Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited.
• Significance: India's existing cruise missile (BrahMos) is a supersonic anti-ship and land-attack missile developed jointly with Russia. LRLACM is an indigenously developed, longer-range land-attack variant.
• Technology: Uses terrain-following guidance to fly low under radar coverage.

Static linkage: Defence technology, DRDO, strategic capabilities.

GS area: Society, Governance

A survey of women's empowerment in India showed progress on education but persistent gaps in employment and wages.

• Education: The gender gap in education has effectively closed. 26 per cent of young women (15-24 age group) have college degrees, up from 12 per cent in 2011-12.
• Wage labour participation: Fell from 18 per cent in 2012 to 14 per cent in 2022. Women's education levels are rising while formal employment participation is falling, a structural paradox.
• Marriage decisions: 52 per cent of women now report having a say in choosing their marriage partner.
• Family approval: 80 per cent of women report family approval for employment.
• SHG participation: Doubled to 18 per cent of rural women.
• Government schemes: Maternity Benefit Act 2017, Mudra Yojana, Nari Shakti Vandana Adhiniyam (33 per cent women's reservation in Parliament).

Static linkage: Women's empowerment, social justice, government schemes.

GS area: Economy, Science and Technology

The WIPO World Intellectual Property Indicators 2024 highlighted India's strong growth in IP filings.

• Patents: 64,480 applications in 2023, a 15.7 per cent growth. Ranked 6th globally.
• Trademarks: Ranked 4th globally. Filings grew 6.1 per cent.
• Industrial designs: Applications grew 36.4 per cent.
• Patent-to-GDP ratio: Improved from 144 applications per billion dollars of GDP in 2013 to 381 in 2023.
• WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organisation. A UN specialised agency headquartered in Geneva.
• Government push: National IPR Policy 2016, KAPILA (Kalam Program for IP Literacy and Awareness), Startup India, Atal Innovation Mission.

Static linkage: Intellectual property, innovation policy, international institutions.

GS area: Internal Security, Governance

The Central Industrial Security Force's first all-women battalion was approved.

• Strength: 1,025 personnel.
• CISF: Central Industrial Security Force. Established 10 March 1969. Became an armed force in 1983.
• Current strength: Exceeds 188,000 personnel. Women constitute 7 per cent.
• Functions: Secures 359 establishments including nuclear facilities, airports, seaports, power plants and heritage monuments.
• Significance: The all-women battalion will enable women-specific security deployments and increase women's representation in central armed police forces.

Static linkage: Internal security forces, governance, women empowerment.

• Comb jellies: Marine invertebrates (phylum Ctenophora) that can reverse their biological age under extreme stress, regressing from adult to larval stage. Among Earth's oldest animals at roughly 700 million years. Different from but analogous to the "immortal jellyfish" (Turritopsis dohrnii). Research into biological age reversal has pharmaceutical implications.
• Moran and Mottock communities: Indigenous groups from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh of Tibeto-Burman origin. They are demanding Scheduled Tribe status. Other Assam communities seeking ST classification include Tai Ahoms, Koch Rajbongshis and Chutias.
• Hokersar Wetland: Located in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. Receives water from the Doodhganga River. Ramsar site. Hosts 232-plus bird species. Attracts 2 million migratory waterfowl annually. An 81 per cent rainfall deficit was recorded in the 2024 winter, stressing the wetland.