General Studies-02

Public health key concern in banning crackers: SC

News:

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to modify its October 9 order suspending the sale of firecrackers in Delhi NCR till November 1, 2017.

Beyond News:

• The court said that its concern primarily was the health of the masses.
• Interestingly, the October 9 order only suspended the sale and did not impose any restriction on the bursting of crackers.
• The court said it would anyway monitor the post-Deepavali situation after November 1.
• The suspension was ordered in a bid to test whether a Deepavali without firecrackers this year will have a “positive effect” on the health of citizens and a steadily deteriorating air quality.

SC asks Centre to strike a balance on Rohingya issue

• The Supreme Court on Friday came close to ordering the government not to deport the Rohingya.
• It finally settled on merely observing that a balance should be struck between humanitarian concern for the community and the country’s national security and economic interests.
• The court was hearing a bunch of petitions, one filed by persons belonging to the community, against a proposed move to deport over 40,000 Rohingya refugees.

Law Ministry hails SC verdict on Section 375

News:

The Law Ministry will not challenge the Supreme Court verdict that having sex with a minor wife is rape, said a top Law Ministry official.

Beyond News:

• The court order will act as a deterrent against child marriage, as the punishment will now be much stricter than the violation of the child marriage law, the official said.
• Sexual intercourse by a man with his minor wife now attracts a jail term of 10 years under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or a life term under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

India to speak up at Bahamas meeting

News:

India will strongly articulate the need to strengthen counter terrorism measures and prevent radicalisation of youth through information and communication technology (ICT) at the Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting that begins on Monday in the islands of the Bahamas.

Beyond News:

• Addressing the issue of using ICT and social media platforms to recruit terrorists and radicalise youth is also part of the agenda.
• Like the September face-off at the United Nations General Assembly, India and Pakistan could once again spar here as well — Pakistan is also a member of the Commonwealth.
• Cyber crimes, climate change, the practice of child marriage, and the need for effective laws, to deal with these issues are also important items on the agenda.
  

  General Studies-03

• {Op-Ed}Six steps to job creation

Key aspects:Unemployment, irregular jobs and low salaries continue to hurt India while it continues to embrace labor reforms.

• Three demographic groups that are in urgent need of jobs
  • Growing number of better educated youth.
  • Uneducated agricultural workers who wish to leave agricultural distress behind.
  • Young women.

Opinion proposes solution for the 6 issues

1. Excessive imports have been decimating Indian manufacturing.As a result, domestic manufacturers face high tariffs since the last 12-15 years, leading to higher raw material cost at home, emanating from the unfavourable inverted duty structure.
                    Solutions: Making Trade policy consistent with such an industrial policy. 
2. The packaging labour intensive sectors have been ignored.
                    Solution: special packages are needed for labour-intensive industries to create jobs. There are a number of labour intensive manufacturing sectors in India such as food processing, leather and footwear, wood manufacturers and furniture, textiles and apparel and garments.
3. Unorganized sector employment is in MSMEs, which tend to be concentrated in specific geographic locations.
    Solution: there should be cluster development to support job creation in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
4. The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) has a programme called AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) aimed at improving infrastructure for small towns. Infrastructure investment by the government always creates many jobs. But the programme does not take into account whether the infrastructure investment under it is taking place in towns which have clusters of unorganised sector economic activities.
   Solution:An engagement between the Urban Development and MSME Ministries is necessary to ensure that this is happening. It will attract more investment to industrial clusters, which is where most non-agricultural jobs are.
5. The problem with skill development women programs has been low placement after training is complete.
   Solution: The availability of jobs close to where the training is conducted will also enhance the demand for training.
6. Public investment in the health sector has remained even in the last three years at 1.15% of GDP, despite the creation of the national health policy at the beginning of 2017.
   Solution:Public investments in health, education, police and judiciary can create many government jobs.

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