Periodic Labour Force Survey

 

News Flash

The recently leaked Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data revealed a drastic increase in unemployment numbers across the country.

 

Bitter Facts

A comparison of the “employment to population ratio” (EPR) in rural vs urban areas shows some interesting variations.

• The EPR in rural India came down relatively more in 2017-18 compared to urban areas.
• Among all groups, the EPR of rural women registered the sharpest decrease in 2017-18. It dropped by 7.3 percentage points compared to 2011-12.
• The corresponding figure for rural men was 2.6 percentage points.
• Among youth aged 15 to 29, the drop in the EPR of both rural men and women was higher than their urban counterparts. The graph shows EPR among usual workers, 15 to 29.

 

PLFS

From 2017 onwards, a nationwide Labour Force Survey called Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) was launched by the NSSO. The PLFS was aimed to provide quarterly employment and unemployment data. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) was launched from 1st April 2017.

Primary aim of the PLFS is to generate reasonably accurate indicators of labour market at a short span for every quarter for which speed of quality data collection and processing are important.

Quarterly changes of various indicators of the labour market in urban areas as well as to generate the annual estimates of different labour force indicators both in rural and urban areas are the supplementary objectives of the PLFS.

• Annual Key Report would contain detailed tables for both rural and urban sectors.
• Quarterly Bulletins would contain estimates of the changes in key labour force parameters like LFPR, WPR and UR in the current weekly status for the urban sector.

Annual estimates (for both rural and urban areas) would be generated for major parameters like:

• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR).
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR).
• Unemployment Rate (UR).
• Distribution of workers by industry, occupation, workers employed in informal sector.
• Conditions of employment of the workers.

The PLFS is designed to generate the indicators of labour market operations using two approaches:

(i) Usual Status (US) approach

(ii) Current Weekly Status (CWS) approach.

Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) Method has been adopted to get quick data. World Bank CAPI software (Survey Solutions) has been customised to the Indian requirement to conduct the survey.

Source: The wire

 

 

Karunya Arogya Suraksha Paddhati

 

News Flash

Ten years after the smooth implementation of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), Kerala will move to a new health insurance programme, Karunya Arogya Suraksha Paddhati (KASP), which will offer an enhanced health coverage of Rs. 5 lakh to the entire beneficiary family.

KASP is Kerala’s new integrated health protection scheme, a merger of various health financing schemes in the State, including Karunya as well as Centre’s Ayushman Bharat-Prime Minister’s Jan Arogya Yojana.

 

Eligibility

• The beneficiary must be a resident of Kerala.
• People belonging to below poverty line and above poverty line sections of the society can apply for this coverage.

 

Benefits

• The government offers treatment benefits up to Rs.2 lakh. For certain cases of extreme illnesses, the treatment benefits can be increased to Rs.3 lakh.
• The scheme will also cover people suffering from major chronic illnesses.
• Some of the acute ailments covered under this policy include the following: Cancer, Hemophilia, Kidney diseases, Heart diseases, Palliative Care.

 

Features

• Along with government hospitals, various private hospitals are also empanelled to provide treatment benefits under this cover.
• The government has allocated about Rs.250 crore for this scheme in the recent financial year.
• The scheme aims to provide coverage for the underprivileged section of the society against various chronic diseases.

 Source: The Hindu

 

 

India’s Membership in NSG

 

News Flash

The Nuclear Suppliers’ Group meets in Vienna today, bringing up once again the contentious issue of India’s membership to the body.

 

Background  

In these past three years, China has consistently blocked India’s efforts to gain membership to the NSG. NSG is an international body, with 48 nation members, that controls the export of materials and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.

 

What are Beijing’s Objections?

• India is not a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; it has maintained that the bloc would first have to formulate rules to allow in countries that were not bound by the NPT. This includes Pakistan, which, too, had followed India in seeking NSG membership.

However India’s commitment to non-proliferation of nuclear technology is recognised by the USA, Russia, Australia, Canada and France and they have given India weavers and signed different technology and nuclear material transfer agreements.

Credibility of India

It depends on two things:

• India’s commitment to separate its civilian and military nuclear programmes and its non proliferation record which ensures indigenously developed technology is not shared with other countries.
• India has also ratified an Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which means that its civilian reactors are under IAEA safeguards and open for inspections.

 

Why the membership of the NSG is important ?

• Access to state of the art technology for a range of uses from medicine to building nuclear power plants for India from the NSG which is essentially a traders’ cartel.
• With India committed to reducing dependence on fossil fuels and ensuring that 40% of its energy is sourced from renewable and clean sources, there is a pressing need to scale up nuclear power production. NSG membership Last year India joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) as a full member and becomes the 35th member of the MTCR.
• India can commercialize the production of nuclear power equipment. This, in turn will boost innovation and high tech manufacturing in India.
• Having the ability to offer its own nuclear power plants to the world means spawning of an entire nuclear industry and related technology development. This could give the Make in India programme a big boost.
• India can block Pakistan from its membership as entry into the grouping is by consensus only.

Last year India joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) as a full member and becomes the 35th member of the MTCR. Benefits  Benefit to ISRO: ISRO will now have access to restricted high-end technologies for developing its cryogenic engines in order to enhance space exploration. Sale of BrahMos: India will be able to sell the Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile BrahMos to Vietnam and other countries and it would make India a significant arms exporter. Procurement of Israel’s Arrow II missile: In its bid to develop indigenous Ballistic Missile System, India wanted to procure Arrow II theatre missile defence interceptor from Israel but was denied due to the MTCR sanctions. Now after gaining the membership India can procure the Arrow II, which will further help India defend itself against Pakistani or Chinese ballistic missiles. Buying surveillance drones. Boost to Make in India. Membership of MTCR is one step closer to India’s membership to the 48-member NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group). It also gives India a chance will provide India a great opportunity to access this goal with new technology imports.

 

NSG

Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a group of nuclear provider nations that look to forestall nuclear expansion by controlling the exports of materials, equipment, and innovative technology that can be utilized to manufacture atomic weapons.

Source: The Hindu

 

 

ASAT Test and International Regulations

 

News Flash

Recently, India carried out an anti-satellite (ASAT) test using an interceptor missile to neutralise a target a satellite in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an altitude of around 300 km.

While India is the fourth country (after the U.S., Russia/USSR and China) to obtain this capability. But after India’s test, there is a debate about the international norms regarding weaponisation of outer space and possible threat from the debris generated during such an experiment. But India has not violated any norm as there is no international treaty prohibiting the testing or the development of ASATs.

 

Its just a an exhibition of technological capabilities 

• An ASAT capability is normally a part of a Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) programme. While a BMD targets an incoming ballistic missile, an ASAT interceptor targets a hostile satellite.
• India started its BMD programme in 1999. A modified Prithvi was to be developed as the intercept missile. In 2011, an incoming Prithvi missile was destroyed by the interceptor missile over the Bay of Bengal at an altitude of around 16 km.
• US and Russia had developed the BMD technology during the 1960s. By the 1980s, both countries concluded their kinetic kill interceptor testing and began to focus on co-orbital anti-satellite systems and directed energy (laser) systems which could neutralise a satellite without fragmenting it and generating space debris.

 

Debris in the space 

• There are 5,000 satellites moving in orbit; more than half are non-functional. Currently, more than 50 countries own/operate the nearly 2,000 functional satellites in orbit. The U.S. accounts for more than 800 of these, followed by China (approximately 280), Russia (approximately 150). India has an estimated 50 satellites. Of these 2,000 satellites, over 300 are dedicated military satellites. Once again, the U.S. has the biggest share here, with nearly 140, followed by Russia with nearly 90 and China with nearly 40. India has two dedicated satellites, one each for the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force.
• Growing amounts of space debris pose a real risk to satellites and spacecraft. There are over 20,000 objects of debris which are the size of golf balls while those of smaller size run into hundreds of thousands, totalling nearly 6,000 tonnes. The debris created by the Indian test, which was undertaken at a low altitude, is expected to dissipate much faster.

 

Legal regime for space 

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty followed by the 1979 Moon Treaty laid the foundations of the legal regime for space beginning with the rule of law, and having following norms :

• Refrain from appropriating territory.
• Non-placement of any weapons of mass destruction in space.
• Prohibition of military activities on the moon and other celestial bodies.

 

Way Ahead

• As nations like USA, China and Russia have created space command of their armies it can be seen that the space’ importance in defence is increasing and India has to develop the latest and advanced technologies in this field and also seek collaboration with another like minded countries.
• The UN General Assembly has called for a declaration of political commitment by all countries that they shall not be the first to place weapons in space. This initiative too has floundered as norm building cannot take place in a political vacuum. So there is greater need of global consensus on peaceful and equity based use of outer space.

 

 

ATTENTION

World’s highest polling station

 

Tashigang, a small village from Himachal Pradesh has the refinement of the most astounding polling station in the world. Tashigang is situated at a height of 15,256 feet. It is situated in Lahaul-Spiti.

 

NASA’s Mars Helicopter

 

NASA’s Mars Helicopter, designed to fly in thin atmosphere and low gravity, has successfully completed flight tests and is prepared for its journey to the Red Planet scheduled to take off in 2020.

The helicopter is designed to function in extremely cold temperatures, including nights with temperatures as low as minus 90 degrees Celsius.

The helicopter is scheduled to reach the surface of the Red Planet in February 2021.

 

Arab League

 

The Arab League formally the League of Arab States, is a regional organization of Arab states in and around North Africa, the Horn of Africa and Arabia. It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. Currently, the League has 22 members, but Syria’s participation has been suspended since November 2011, as a consequence of government repression during the Syrian Civil War.