Indian Society and Social Issues: October 2022 UPSC Current Affairs | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2022

In News

Recently, the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was released.

Report highlights:

For India:

• Improvements:
  • As many as 41.5 crore people exited poverty in India during the 15-year period between 2005-06 and 2019-21.
  • Out of these, two-thirds exited in the first 10 years, and one-third in the next five years, according to the report.
  • It shows that the incidence of poverty fell from 55.1% in 2005/06 to 16.4% in 2019/21 in the country.
  • Deprivations in all 10 MPI indicators saw significant reductions as a result of which the MPI value and incidence of poverty more than halved.
• Global significance of poverty reducion in India:
  • Improvement in MPI for India has significantly contributed to the decline in poverty in South Asia.
  • It is for the first time that it is not the region with the highest number of poor people, at 38.5 crore, compared with 57.9 crore in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• State-wise data:
  • Bihar, the poorest State in 2015/2016, saw the fastest reduction in MPI value in absolute terms. 
  • Of the 10 poorest States in 2015/2016, only one (West Bengal) was not among the 10 poorest in 2019/2021. 
  • The rest— Bihar, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan —remain among the 10 poorest.
• Challenges:
  • The report notes that the ongoing task of ending poverty remains daunting. 
  • India has by far the largest number of poor people worldwide at 22.8 crore, followed by Nigeria at 9.6 crore. 
  • Two-thirds of these people live in a household in which at least one person is deprived in nutrition. 
  • There were also 9.7 crore poor children in India in 2019/2021- more than the total number of poor people, children and adults combined, in any other country covered by the global MPI.
• Globally: Globally, of the total 610 crore people across 111 developing countries, 19.1% or 120 crore live in multidimensional poverty. Nearly half of them live in severe poverty.
• Report Shortcomings: The report doesn’t fully assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on poverty in India as 71% of the data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-2021) relied upon for MPI were collected before the pandemic.

About Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

• About:
  • The report is produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). 
  • The global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is an international measure of acute multidimensional poverty covering over 100 developing countries. 
• Report indicators:
  • The global MPI constructs a deprivation profile of each household and person through 10 indicators spanning health, education and standard of living. 
  • All indicators are equally weighted within each dimension. 
  • The most common profile, affecting 3.9 percent of poor people, includes deprivations in four indicators: nutrition, cooking fuel, sanitation, and housing.

• Calculating multidimensionally poor:
  • The global MPI identifies people as multidimensionally poor if their deprivation score is 1/3 or higher.
  • The MPI is calculated by multiplying the incidence of poverty and the average intensity of poverty. 
  • The MPI ranges from 0 to 1, and higher values imply higher poverty. 
  • By identifying who is poor, the nature of their poverty (their deprivation profile) and how poor they are (deprivation score), the global MPI complements the international $1.90 a day poverty rate, which was revised by the World Bank last month to $2.15 per day.
• SDG target:
  • The Sustainable Development Goal target 1.2 is for countries to reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions by 2030. 

Challenges for India

Levels of nutrition:

• While poverty levels have not worsened, levels of under-nutrition are still very high. 
• There is no marked acceleration in rate of improvement between NFHS-3 and NFHS-4 and NFHS-4 and NFHS-5. 
• And the MPI mainly captures the pre-COVID situation because 71% of the NFHS-5 interviews were pre-COVID.

Recent World Bank estimates:

• According to the World Bank’s recently released report on global poverty, India is the country with the highest number of poor people.
• Report stated that “economic upheavals brought on by Covid-19 and later the war in Ukraine” had produced “an outright reversal” in poverty reduction across the planet. 

Way Ahead

• India faces three rather acute and growing problems: 
  • Widespread unemployment, 
  • Widening inequalities and 
  • Deepening poverty
• None of these will be resolved by electoral victories. They require actual policy solutions. Without the right policies, India’s demographic dividend is looking more like a demographic bomb.

To Read More Information on Poverty 

• Poverty & Development Issues - 1
• Poverty & Development Issues - 2

Revised Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme

Why in News?
The Central Government, expanding the mandate of its flagship scheme - ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' (BBBP Scheme) announced the inclusion of skilling of girls in non-traditional livelihood (NTL) options.

• At the national conference on skilling in non-traditional livelihoods for girls, Ministries of Women and Child Development MW&CD emphasises the importance of convergence between various departments for providing quality education to empower girls.

What is BBBP Scheme?

• About:
  • The Scheme was launched by Prime Minister on January 22, 2015 to addresses the declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and related issues of women’s empowerment over a life-cycle continuum.
  • It is a Tri-ministerial effort of the Ministries of Women and Child Development (MW&CD), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MH&FW), and Ministry of Education.
• Main Objectives:
  • Prevention of gender-biased sex-selective elimination.
  • Ensuring survival & protection of the girl child.
  • Ensuring education and participation of the girl child.
  • Protecting rights of Girl children.
• Innovative Interventions under BBBP: Innovations that have created a positive ecosystem/ enabling environment for girls include:
• Guddi-Gudda Boards: (Display of Birth Statistics (number of Girls born vis-à-vis number of Boys) in public). Example: Jalgaon district, Maharashtra has installed digital Guddi-Gudda Display Boards.
• Breaking Gender Stereotypes & Challenging Son-centric Rituals: Celebration of birth of the girl child, dedicating special day on value of girl child, plantation drives symbolizing nurturing and care for girl child. Example: Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu), Selfie with Daughters (Jind district, Haryana).

What are the New Changes in the BBBP Scheme?

• Some of the new aims in the revised BBBP scheme include:
  • Ensuring 1% increment in enrolment at the secondary level particularly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects.
  • Skilling of girls and women every year (mainly in non-traditional livelihoods)
  • Raising awareness about safe menstrual hygiene
  • Promulgating elimination of child marriages
• Other Changes to the Scheme:
  • The MW&CD also emphasised the convergence between various departments for providing quality education (including vocational) to empower girls.
  • A MoU was signed between the MW&CD and Ministries Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Minority Affairs to ensure adolescents complete their education, build skills, and enter the workforce in a diverse range of professions.
  • A national committee headed by the Secretary of MW&CD, formed under the larger Mission Shakti will review the implementation of the BBBP scheme with states and UTs.

What are the Other Initiatives to Support Girl Children?

• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
• Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
• CBSE Udaan Scheme
• National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education
• National Girl Child Day
• Scheme for Adolescent Girls
• Sukanya Samridhi Yojana

What are Non-Traditional Livelihoods (NTL)?

• “Non-Traditional Livelihoods” (NTLs) – sectors and jobs where participation of women is and has historically been conventionally low or absent. Like STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects due to gender-based categorization of the work, in the society.

To Read more information on Government Schemes

Polio Eradication

Why in News?
Recently, global leaders confirmed USD 2.6 billion in funding toward the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s (GPEI) 2022-2026 Strategy to end polio at the World Health Summit in Berlin.

What is the World Health Summit?

• The World Health Summit is an international health conference.
• WHS 2022 aimed to strengthen exchange, stimulate innovative solutions to health challenges, position global health as a key political issue and promote a global health conversation in the spirit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

What is Polio?

• About:
• Polio is a crippling and potentially deadly viral infectious disease that affects the nervous system.
• There are three individual and immunologically distinct wild poliovirus strains:
  • Wild Poliovirus type 1 (WPV1)
  • Wild Poliovirus type 2 (WPV2)
  • Wild Poliovirus type 3 (WPV3)
• Symptomatically, all three strains are identical, in that they cause irreversible paralysis or even death. However, there are genetic and virological differences, which make these three strains separate viruses which must each be eradicated individually.
• Spread:
  • The virus is transmitted person-to-person mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (for example, through contaminated water or food).
  • It largely affects children under 5 years of age. The virus multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause paralysis.
• Symptoms:
  • Most people with polio do not feel sick. Some people have only minor symptoms, such as fever, tiredness, nausea, headache, pain in the arms and legs, etc.
  • In rare cases, polio infection causes permanent loss of muscle function (paralysis).
  • Polio can be fatal if the muscles used for breathing are paralysed or if there is an infection of the brain.
• Prevention and Cure:
  • There is no cure, but it can be prevented through Immunisation.
• Vaccines:
  • Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV): It is given orally as a birth dose for institutional deliveries, then primary three doses at 6, 10 and 14 weeks and one booster dose at 16-24 months of age.
  • Injectable Polio Vaccine (IPV): It is introduced as an additional dose along with the 3^rd dose of DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus) under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).
• India & Polio:
  • India received polio-free certification by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2014, after three years of zero cases.
  • This achievement has been spurred by the successful Pulse Polio Campaign in which all children were administered polio drops.
  • The last case due to wild poliovirus in the country was detected on 13th January 2011

What Initiatives have been taken to Eradicate Polio?

• Global Polio Eradication Initiative:
  • It was launched in 1988 by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), by national governments and WHO. Presently, 80% of the world’s population is now living in certified polio-free regions.
  • An estimated 1.5 million childhood deaths have been prevented, through the systemic administration of vitamin A during polio immunization activities.
• World Polio Day: It is observed every year on 24th October in order to call on countries to stay vigilant in their fight against the disease.
• Indian:
  • Pulse Polio Programme: It was started with an objective of achieving 100% coverage under Oral Polio Vaccine.
  • Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0: It was a nationwide immunisation drive to mark the 25 years of Pulse polio programme (2019-20).
  • Universal Immunization Programme (UIP): It was launched in 1985 with the modification to ‘Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI). The objectives of the Programme include:
    • Rapidly increasing immunization coverage
    • Improving the quality of services
    • Establishing a reliable cold chain system to the health facility level
    • Introducing a district-wise system for monitoring of performance
    • Achieving self-sufficiency in vaccine production.

International Girl Child Day

Context

• Every year on 11th October the International Child Day is observed.

About the Day

• 11th October 2022 commemorates the 10th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl (IDG). 
• The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995, proposed an action plan to advance the rights of girls.
• In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare 11th October as the International Day of the Girl Child.
• Theme of 2022: ‘Our time is now—our rights, our future.’
• Positive impact: In the last 10 years, there has been increased attention and provision of opportunities on girls’ specific issues amongst governments, policymakers and the general public. 

Status of Girl Child in India
As per the “Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India Report 2021” by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB):

• West Bengal and Odisha feature in the list of top five states along with Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh accounting for close to half of the total crimes committed against children (47. 1 %) across the country. 
• In a large country like India, many cases of crimes against children go unrecorded, especially in remote areas. Hence, the actual number may be much higher than those reported. 
• Vulnerability of children is increasing in the post-pandemic era, despite the efforts and initiatives to strengthen child protection in the states. 
• Grim Picture of Eastern States: Sikkim has the highest rate of sexual offences against children followed by Kerala, Meghalaya, Haryana and Mizoram.

Challenges faced by women and girls

• Lack of sensitization on behalf of police personnel
• Investments in girl’s rights remain limited. 
• Lack of time bound investigation of the reported cases
• Adequate laws, inadequate implementation
• Female infanticide and Sex-selective Abortions
• Meta-son preference driven gender stereotyping and discrimination
• Lack of education and awareness about women’s rights and legal grievance redressal mechanisms
• Human trafficking and forced prostitution with the lure of jobs
• Online Abuse and harassment-like rape threats, online harassment, cyber-stalking, blackmail, trolling etc.
• Sexual harassment at workplace and glass ceiling.
• Girls' challenges in fulfilling their potential are worsened by concurrent crises of climate change, COVID-19 and humanitarian conflict.

Measures Taken

• Global:
  • 1995 World Conference on Women adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for advancing the rights of the women and the girls
  • The Spotlight Initiative of UN and EU to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG).
  • 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is also in tune with the Spotlight initiative to ensure centrality of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• India:
  • Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
  • Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013
  • Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006
  • Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018 based “Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences” to monitor and track time-bound investigation in sexual assault cases 
  • National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO) to facilitate investigation and tracking of sexual offenders across India by law enforcement agencies

Way Forward 

• Despite adversity, the world's 600 million adolescent girls have shown that given the skills and the opportunities, they can be the changemakers driving progress in their communities, building back stronger for all, including women, boys and men.
• Further, boosting community-based child protection mechanisms such as village-level child protection committees can play a critical role.
• Urgent measures should be taken to strengthen the country’s child protection system and make the police, judicial and legal systems more proactive. 
• Government should formulate an Information Education and Communication (IEC) strategy on laws, mechanisms, schemes and best practices for the protection and welfare of women and children.

World Mental Health Day 2022

Why in News?
On the occasion of World Mental Health Day (10^th October), the Lancet released a report titled “Ending Stigma and Discrimination in Mental Health” and called for radical action to end stigma and discrimination associated with mental health.

What are the Findings of the Report?

• Prevalence of Mental Health Condition:
  • Nearly one billion people globally are living with a mental health condition.
  • One out of seven in the age bracket of 10–19-year-olds suffers from a mental condition.
  • These people experience a double threat – the impact of the condition itself and the damaging social consequences of stigma and discrimination.
  • The Covid-19 pandemic helped highlight the urgent mental health situation across the world.
  • There was an estimated 25 % rise in the prevalence of depression and anxiety in the first year of the pandemic.
• Impact:
  • 90% of people living with mental health conditions feel negatively impacted by stigma and discrimination.
  • Stigma can “cause social exclusion and disempowerment of people with mental health conditions leading to discrimination and human rights violations, including problems in accessing healthcare, challenges in securing employment, and increased likelihood of health complications leading to early death.
• Indian Scenario:
  • Though there is a gradual reduction of stigma in India, it continues to be a real and present problem.
  • Women with a diagnosis of severe mental disorder and their family members do face more stigma which has ramifications for marriage and employment preventing social inclusion.
  • The Indian media, especially the visual media like television serials continue to portray mental illness negatively.
• Suggestions:
  • There should be immediate action from governments, international organisations, employers, healthcare provider and media organisations, along with active contributions from people with lived experience, to work together to eliminate mental health stigma and discrimination.
  • Employers are to promote full access to educational opportunities, work participation and return-to-work programmes for people with mental health conditions and the school curriculum should include sessions for students to improve understanding of mental health conditions.
  • There is a need to empower and support people with lived experience of mental health conditions to play active roles in stigma reduction efforts.

Why is World Mental Health Day Celebrated?

• About:
  • World Mental Health Day is marked on 10^th October every year to spread awareness and education about mental health issues across the world.
  • The first time World Mental Health Day was observed was on 10^th October, 1992.
  • The day was started as an annual activity of the World Federation for Mental Health by the then Deputy Secretary-General Richard Hunter.
• Theme for Year 2022:
  • Making mental health for all a global priority

What Initiatives are Taken by India to Promote Mental Health?

• National Mental Health Program: To address the huge burden of mental disorders and shortage of qualified professionals in the field of mental health, the government has been implementing the National Mental Health Program (NMHP) since 1982.
• Mental HealthCare Act 2017: The Mental Health Care Act (MHCA) 2017 came into force in 2018 to meet the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which India ratified in 2007.
• Kiran Helpline: It offers mental health rehabilitation services with the objective of early screening, first-aid, psychological support, distress management, promoting positive behaviours, etc.
• Manodarpan: The Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) (now Ministry of Education) launched it under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. It is aimed to provide psychosocial support to students, family members and teachers for their mental health and well-being during the times of Covid-19.
• Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System (MANAS): In 2021, the government of India launched MANAS (Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System) mobile App to promote mental wellbeing across age different groups.

Way Forward

• Mental health situation in India demands active policy interventions and resource allocation by the government. To reduce the stigma around mental health, we need measures to train and sensitize the community/society.
• India also needs a constant stream of funds for educating and creating awareness about mental health and chronic issues around it.
• The need of the hour is to provoke masses to learn about mental health through campaigns like Swachh Mansikta Abhiyan.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)

Why in News?
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) helped compensating 20-80% of the income loss incurred because of the Covid-19 induced lockdown, as per a study conducted by Azim Premji University across four states (Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh).

• However, 39% of the surveyed households didn’t get a single day of work in the Covid-19 year due to lack of adequate works being sanctioned/opened.

What is MGNREGA?

About: MGNREGA is one of the largest work guarantee programmes in the world launched in 2005 by the Ministry of Rural development.

• The primary objective of the scheme is to guarantee 100 days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work.
• As of 2022-23, there are 15.4 crore active workers under the MGNREGA.
• Legal Right to Work: Unlike earlier employment guarantee schemes, the act aims at addressing the causes of chronic poverty through a rights-based framework.
  • At least one-third of beneficiaries have to be women.
  • Wages must be paid according to the statutory minimum wages specified for agricultural labourers in the state under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
• Demand-Driven Scheme: The most important part of MGNREGA’s design is its legally-backed guarantee for any rural adult to get work within 15 days of demanding it, failing which an ‘unemployment allowance’ must be given.
  • This demand-driven scheme enables the self-selection of workers.
• Decentralised planning: There is an emphasis on strengthening the process of decentralisation by giving a significant role in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in planning and implementing these works.
  • The act mandates Gram sabhas to recommend the works that are to be undertaken and at least 50% of the works must be executed by them.

What are the Issues Associated with Implementation of Scheme?

• Delay and Insufficiency in Funds Dispersal: Most states have failed to disburse wages within 15 days as mandated by MGNREGA. In addition, workers are not compensated for a delay in payment of wages.
  • This has turned the scheme into a supply-based programme and subsequently, workers had begun to lose interest in working under it.
  • There is ample evidence by now, including an admission by the Ministry of Finance, that delays in wage payments are a consequence of insufficient funds.
• Caste Based Segregation: There were significant variations in delays by caste. While 46% of payments to SC (Scheduled Caste) workers and 37% for ST (Scheduled Tribes) workers were completed in the mandated seven-day period, it was a dismal 26% for non-SC/ST workers.
  • The negative impact of caste-based segregation was felt acutely in poorer States such as Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.
• Ineffective Role of PRI: With very little autonomy, gram panchayats are not able to implement this act in an effective and efficient manner.
• Large Number of Incomplete works: There has been a delay in the completion of works under MGNREGA and inspection of projects has been irregular. Also, there is an issue of quality of work and asset creation under MGNREGA.
• Fabrication of Job cards: There are several issues related to the existence of fake job cards, the inclusion of fictitious names, missing entries and delays in making entries in job cards

Way Forward

• There is a need for better coordination between various government departments and the mechanism to allot and measure the work.
• Some discrepancies in the payouts need to be addressed, too. Women in the sector, on an average, earn 22.24% less than their male counterparts.
• State governments must ensure that public work gets started in every village. Workers turning up at the worksite should be provided work immediately, without much delay.
• Local bodies must proactively reach out to returned and quarantined migrant workers and help those in need to get job cards.
• Gram panchayats need to be provided with adequate resources, powers, and responsibilities to sanction works, provide work on demand, and authorise wage payments to ensure there are no delays in payments.
• MGNREGA should be converged with other schemes of the government. For example, Green India initiative, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan etc.