- GII 2022 released by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
- Index is Released by UNDP in their report Human Development Report 2023/2024; Breaking the gridlock Reimagining cooperation in a polarized world.
- Key Highlights:
- Topped by Denmark, followed by Norway and Switzerland.
- India has been ranked at 108 out of 193 countries with a score of 0.437.
- In 2021 India stood at rank 122 out of 191 countries.
- India’s neighbouring nations such as Bhutan (80); Sri Lanka (90); and Maldives (76) have performed better.
- GII is a composite measure, reflecting inequality in achievements between women and men in three dimensions:
- Reproductive Health: Use indicators namely the maternal mortality ratio and the adolescent fertility rate.
- Also uses Female reproductive health Index.
- Empowerment: Measured by the share of parliamentary seats held and at least secondary attainment level by both gender.
- Also uses Female and male empowerment Index.
- Labour market: Measured by labour force participation rates by both gender.
- Also uses Female and male labour market Index.
- Reproductive Health: Use indicators namely the maternal mortality ratio and the adolescent fertility rate.
- GII score varies between 0 (when women and men fare equally) and 1 (when men or women fare poorly compared to the other in all dimensions).
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- On International Women’s Day (IWD), the UN Secretary-General launched the new UN System-Wide Gender Equality Acceleration Plan to boost the empowerment of women and girls.
- In 2012, the United Nations Chief Executives Board approved a landmark System-wide Action Plan for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-SWAP) to be applied throughout the UN system.
- UN-SWAP 2.0 (released in 2018) raised the bar for accountability by strengthening existing indicators and anchoring the framework within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- UN chief also highlighted that targeted programmes and quotas are required to tackle “baked-in bias”, and dismantle obstacles to equality.
- Baked-in Bias implies that bias against a particular gender, caste, or community is continuing and is deep-rooted, and embedded in society.
- Three priority action areas suggested by the UN- Secretary-General
- Increasing affordable, long-term finance for sustainable development.
- Governments to prioritise equality for women and girls.
- Increase the number of women in leadership positions, which can help to drive investment in policies and programmes that meet the needs of women and girls.
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- PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) a standard-setting body under the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), has devised the HPC for the foundational stage (Classes 1 and 2), preparatory stage (Classes 3 to 5) and middle stage (Classes 6 to 8).
- HPC is a 360-degree, multidimensional report of progress, detailing the uniqueness of each learner in the cognitive, affective, socio-emotional, and psychomotor domains.
- It is in line with the recommendations of the National Education Policy, 2020.
- Objective of HPC
- It helps to map the status of each child's learning for foundation literacy and numeracy skills.
- It focuses on the uniqueness of each learner.
- To document a child's own expression of self as well as the teacher’s assessment of the child based on the competencies.
- It will form an important link between home and school and make parents an integral part of a child’s learning process.
- Features of HPC
- Asses through project-based and inquiry-based learning, quizzes, role plays, group work, portfolios, etc
- It includes self-assessment, peer assessment and parent’s feedback.
- Builds on self-awareness and self-esteem by communicating the strengths and areas of improvement.
- Based on three Developmental Goals
- Health and Wellbeing
- Effective Communicators
- Involved Learners
- Ministry of Education (MoE) launched the SWAYAM Plus Platform.
- SWAYAM is a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) platform providing educational opportunities for learners.
- About the SWAYAM Plus platform
- In alignment with National Education Policy 2020, it will now include courses supporting industry needs that enhance learners’ employability in collaboration with industry leaders.
- It features innovative elements like multilingual content, AI-enabled guidance, credit recognition, and pathways to employment
- IIT Madras has been appointed as nodal agency for implementing it.
- Funded by MoE, Department of Higher Education.
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- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) released a report titled “Role of Social Media in facilitating Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse”.
- Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA) involve the use of information and communication technology as a means to sexually abuse and/or sexually exploit children.
- As per National Human Rights Commission, Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) has increased by 250 to 300 percent on social media in India.
- How social media facilitates OCSEA?
- Online predators: Social media platform could be used by predators to entice and coerce children into posting graphic content.
- Access to Inappropriate Content: Children may purposefully or unintentionally gain access to sexually explicit material, easily accessible on social networking sites.
- Impact of Child Sexual Abuse Material on Child
- Impair brain development, and cause psychological stress like Anxiety, Post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.
- Potential to normalize or desensitize children to inappropriate behavior.
- Leads to communicable and non-communicable diseases like sexually transmitted infections including HIV, cardiovascular disease, and unintended pregnancies etc.
- Recommendations from report
- Make it mandatory for online platforms to have clear, accessible, child-friendly mechanisms for children to report concerns.
- Social media platforms and service providers should publish periodic transparency reports.
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- Latest data on World Poverty Clock showed that India has managed to bring down ‘extreme poverty’ below 3% of its population.
- About WPC
- Developed by World Data Lab, a global data enterprise.
- Monitors global progress against Ending Extreme Poverty.
- Funded by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany.
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- The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (Jal Shakti Ministry), in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, launched SGLR for the tourism industry.
- Bison Resorts, Madhya Pradesh obtained the first Five Swachhata Green Leaf Rating Certificate of Recognition.
- About SGLR
- It is a type of rating system, which evaluates various tourist facilities based on their adherence to specific hygiene and sanitation standards.
- Aim: Revolutionize sanitation practices within the country's flourishing tourism industry.
- It aligns with the Travel for LiFE (TFL) program under Mission LiFE.
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- India's first septic tank/manhole cleaning robot known as Homosep atom developed by the startup Solinas reached 16 cities.
- Solinas was incubated in the Department of Science and Technology (DST)-Technology Business Incubator (TBI)of IIT Madras.
- About Homosep Atom
- Robotic solution integrated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to inspect, clean, and manage confined space for sanitation purposes.
- Features: Extensive blade cleanings, solid waste desilting, suction, and storage at one device.
- Offers end-to-end solutions to eliminate manual scavenging.
