07th & 08th MAR, 2021

NEWS TODAY

VISIONIASRecently, 2 reports were released highlighting the need for Financial Empowerment and Women’s Livelihood security:

In India, Ministry of Finance, in the past seven years has also launched various Schemes which have special provisions for empowerment of women (refer to the infographics).

COVID-19 Global Gender Response Tracker by UNDP and UN Women,

‘Protecting Women's Livelihoods in Times of Pandemic: Temporary Basic Income and the Road to Gender Equality’ by UNDP

WOMEN'S DAY: WOMEN’S LIVELIHOOD SECURITY ANDFINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with Central Silk Board (CSB) under Ministry of Textiles on a convergence model for implementation of Agroforestry in silk sector under ongoing Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF) Scheme.

India is the second largest producer of silk in the World. (China being the largest).

Government measures to promote sericulture

Expected BenefitsCSB is a statutory body under Ministry of Textiles, for development of silk industry in India.

Incentivize farmers to take up sericulture-based Agroforestry models.Support production of range of silks that India is famous for.

India has unique distinction of being the only country producing all the five kinds of silk namely, Mulberry, Eri, Muga, Tropical Tasar and Temperate Tasar.Sericulture is mostly a village-based industry providing employment opportunities to a large section of the population.Except for mulberry, other non-mulberry varieties of silks are wild silks, known as vanya silks.India has the unique distinction of producing all these commercial varieties of silk.

Integrated Scheme for the Development of Silk IndustryNorth East Region Textile Promotion SchemeSilk Samagra Scheme

Augmentation of sericulture host plants e.g. Mulberry, Asan, Arjuna, BadaKesseru, Phanat, etc.

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE SIGNSMoU FOR PROMOTION OF AGROFORESTRY IN SILK SECTOR

Being Impemented under National Agroforestry Policy 2014.

Aims to encourage farmers to plant multi-purpose trees together with agriculture

crops for climate resilience and an additional source of income to the farmers, and enhanced feedstock for wood-based and herbal industry.

Sub-

Mis

sion

on

Agr

ofor

estr

y(S

MA

F)

Agroforestry is defined as a land use system which integrate trees and shrubs on farmlands

and rural landscapes to enhance productivity, profitability, diversity and ecosystem sustainability.

Draft of China’s new Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), has given permission for first dams to be built on the lower reaches of Brahmaputra river (called as Yarlung Zangbo in Tibet).

Earlier, in 2015 China operationalised its first hydropower project at Zangmu in Tibet, while three other dams at Dagu, Jiexu and Jiacha were being developed, all on the upper and middle reaches of the river.

Issues associated with Dam Diplomacy of China

Dams on the lower reaches would raise fresh concerns because of the location across the border from Arunachal Pradesh and the potential impact downstream.

India has expressed concerns to China over four planned dams on the upper and middle reaches.

China has not been forthright about its construction of dams and hardly gives information on projects or long-term plans, which has ecological impact.China can manipulate water resources and can potentially deprive India (as a lower riparian country) of water during dry seasons.Release of water during monsoons can inundate the already flooded Brahmaputra.

CHINA GIVES GREEN LIGHT FORFIRST DOWNSTREAM DAMS ONBRAHMAPUTRA

Currently, there is no water cooperation treaty between India and China. However, they signed a MoU in 2002 for the sharing of hydrological data and it was extended in 2013.

Women are 25% more likely than men to live in extreme poverty.Only 10% countries and territories have policies addressing women’s economic security needs.

Unpaid work by women amounts to almost US$11 trillion a year.Women spend an average of 4 hours more per day than men on paid and unpaid work combined.There is an urgency to act immediately to ensure women can access social protection schemes, as the crisis has affected women differently than men.A temporary basic income (TBI) for poor women in developing countries can help millions of them cope with Pandemic.

DaguJiexuZangmuJiacha

Schemes under Ministry of Finance

STAND-UP INDIA PMJDY

which have benefitted the women in India

promotes entrepreneurship at grass root level for economic empowerment and job creation

MUDRA

providing loans up to 10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-farm small/micro enterprises

MUDRA has created three products namely 'Shishu', "Kishore and Tarun' to signify the stage of growth / development and funding needs of the beneficiary micro unit / entrepreneur and also provide a reference point for the next phase of graduation /growth

About 68% i.e., 19.04 crore accounts with an amount of Rs. 6.36 lakh crore have been sanctioned to women entrepreneurs under MUDRA scheme since inception (As on26.02.2021

facilitate bank loans between Rs. 10 lakh and Rs.1 crore to at least one Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) borrower and at least one woman borrower per bank branch of SCBs for setting up a Greenfield enterprise.

more than 81% account holders are women (As on 25.02.2021)

lt envisages universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household, financial literacy, access to credit, insurance and pension.

23.21 cr accounts out of the total 41.93 crore accounts opened under the scheme belong to women account holders. (As on 24.02.2021)

VISIONIASALSO IN NEWS

Referendum

Food Waste Index Report 2021

Sattras

Switzerland voted in favour of banning full facial coverings including the niqab and burqa in almost all public places in the referendum.Referendum is a instrument of direct democracy for general vote by the electorate on a single political question which has been referred to them for a direct decision.Other mechanisms of direct democracy:

Sattras are monastic institutions created as part of 16th century Neo-Vaishnavite reformist movement started by saint Srimanta Sankaradeva (1449-1596) in Assam.Today, there are about 900 Sattras across Assam, promulgating Sankardeva’s unique “worship through art” approach with music (borgeet), dance (xattriya) and theatre (bhauna).Sankardeva propagated a form of Bhakti called eka-sharana-naam-dhrama, and espoused a society based on equality and fraternity, free from caste differences, orthodox Brahmanical rituals and sacrifices.

As per it, an estimated 931 million tonnes of food equalling 17% of total food available to consumers in 2019 globally wasted.

Report suggests reducing food waste would improve food security, address climate change, save money and lower pressures on the environment.

For India, waste in kg / capita / year was 50, lower than Nigeria producing waste at 189 kg / capita / year.

Report is released by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Recall: by voters to remove a representative or an officer before the expiry of his term.Initiative: to propose a bill to the legislature for enactment.Plebiscite: obtaining the opinion of people on any issue of public importance.

His teaching focused on prayer and chanting (naam) instead of idol worship.

According to UNICEF report "Covid-19: A threat to progress against child marriage,"

Child brides are more likely to experience domestic violence, less likely to remain in school, increased risk of early unplanned pregnancy, mortality etc. Main factors for Child Marriage include:

In India, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006 treats underage marriages as valid, but voidable which means that an underage marriage is valid as long as the minors involved in the marriage want it to remain valid.

Draft CZMP is being criticised by locals, environmentalists and political parties for re-zoning of beach areas, accommodating allegedly illegal constructions etc.

Under Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification 2011, respective state governments and Union Territories were directed to prepare CZMP by identifying and classifying the CRZ areas.CRZ notification 2011 (issued under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986) declared coastal stretches of country and India’s territorial waters, excluding Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands, as CRZ.

In 2018, CRZ notification was revised to enhanced activities in the coastal regions thereby promoting economic growth while also respecting the conservation principles of coastal regions.

In the last 10 years the proportion of young women globally who were married as children had declined by 15%.

Cultural factors, poverty and lack of education.

PCMA sets the minimum age of marriage at 18 years for women and at 21 for men.Also, as part of the UN SDG India is committed to eliminate child marriage by 2030.

Globally, 650 million girls and women were married in childhood and India has largest number of child brides i.e. 1/3rd of global total.

But, now, school closures, economic stress, service disruptions, pregnancy and parental deaths due to the pandemic may result in an additional 10 million child marriages in this decade.

It was prepared by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai – an research institute under MoEFCC.

It aimed at securing livelihood of fishing communities and other local communities living in coastal areas, conserve and protect coastal stretches, their unique environment and marine area and promote development in a sustainable manner.For this, it restricted setting up and expansion of any industry, operations and manufacture or handling or storage or disposal of hazardous substances in CRZ.

COVID-19 PANDEMIC COULD THREATEN THE DECADAL PROGRESS IN CHILD MARRIAGE:UNICEF REPORT

DRAFT COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT PLAN (CZMP) STOKED A CONTROVERSY IN GOACoastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2018

Low tideline (LTL)

High tideline (HTL)

50 metre

NDZ CRZ III A

CRZ I A

CRZ IICRZ III B

CRZ I B

CRZ IV

(12 nautical miles)

500 metre

Index

CRZ I A: Eco-sensitive areasCRZ 1 B: Inter-tidal areasCRZ II: Areas which have been developed up to or close to the shoreCRZ III A: CRZ-III areas, where the population density is more than 2,161 sq km as per 2011 CensusCRZ III B: Areas with population density of less than 2,161 per sq km, as per 2011 CensusCRZ IVA: 12 nautical miles from the Low Tide Line towards the seaCRZ IV B: Tidal influenced waterbodiesNDZ: 50 metres from High Tide Line in CRZ III A areas, 200 m from HTL in CRZ-III B areas

200 metre NDZ